Blind Sided
by Onomatopoeiafloon
Summary: Post FANG; Iggy goes to look for the missing member of the Flock and ends up getting changed into a small child after a run-in with some creepy guys in a back alley. Now he has to rely on people he's never met to get him back to normal... COMPLETE
1. Tiny Blind Bird Kid

_Post FANG; Iggy goes to look for the missing member of the Flock and ends up getting changed into a small child after a run-in with some creepy guys in a back alley. Now he has to rely on people he's never met to get him back to normal. But when that same mysterious organization offers him something he's longed for almost all of his life will he give up the very people that are trying to help him? T for violence_

_Disclaimer;_

_Everything belongs to their respective owners. I only own the plot and any OC's_

_**So I got my paws on the new MR novel...**_

_**I finished it in four hours...XP**_

_**Random flash of crossover inspiration...and since I LOVE LOVE LOVE Iggy and think that that little pyro-maniac deserves more lurve I decided to write this! Enjoy all you...people things.**_

_**Also, I'm going to attempt to use the Japanese names! -gasp-**_

**_Pairings all include;_**

**_Faxness_**

**_ShinichiRan_**

**_HeijiKazuha_**

**_Possibly(if I toss him in here) KaitoAoko_**

**_And maybe, just maybe if I decide it fits the story well, IggyxHaibara (Because it would amuse me :3)_**

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_Chapter One- Tiny Blind Bird Kid_

Hi there, the name's Iggy. Just Iggy, nothing else. I've never really had much of a want or need for a last name really. It's not something that is neccessary for survival you know. I'm not your everyday average fifteen year old. In fact I might not even really be fifteen, I just decided I was because it's something we Avian Americans can do you know.

I'm part of the Flock. Perhaps you've heard of us? We're the weird kids that can fly. Really fly I mean, not like in an airplane. Each of us are two percent bird and ninety-eight percent human. We're hybrids...freaks if you don't want to be gentle about it. Not that I've ever cared. "Normal" people can call me a freak all they like, but they can't possibly understand the joy of really flying. The freedom of an open sky...

I guess I should point out right away that I'm blind. I can't see...in the way that most people in the world can see. Don't misunderstand, I can live as well as anybody else can without sight. Heck, I think that I can live BETTER than a LOT of people that HAVE their sight. My other senses are incredibly sensitive. I can hear things way before other people, smell things people shouldn't be able to smell and I can FEEL things. It's not that I'm psychic or anything ridiculous like that...it's just that...Okay. Let me explain. You know when you walk in a room and you can tell people have been arguing even if nobody is saying anything? It's just a tension that's in the air right? Well I can kind of feel things like that, only all the time. Basically it's my way of knowing how people are feeling without seeing their faces.

I won't lie to you...even having all of those things I still want to see. More than anything in the world. I can sense color fields but that almost makes me want to see even MORE. Like waving a stick under a dog's and then not throwing it. I don't say much about it to my friends but...well sometimes it hurts not being able to see things. It's not just the beautiful stuff either. I'd almost kill to see a dumpster or something. How pathetic...

Oh! My friends, or my family...I guess it's hard to really think what to call them. They're the Flock. First of all there's Maximum Ride. I call her Max, of course. She's bossy almost ALL the time, but to be completely honest with you it's not a bossy that's BAD. I mean, don't get me wrong it can be REALLY annoying sometimes, but she has a natural talent to lead I think. She's kind of like a mother to me...as weird as that sounds. She IS supposedly my age but...I don't know. Max is the closest thing to a parent that I've really had before. I forget that she's a kid like us sometimes. I hate when I do that too, in case you were wondering. Since the mom thing is kind of awkward for a guy whose her age I'll go ahead and say she's like a sister to me. Yeah, that fits with what's going on right now...more about that later.

Nudge is like a little sister to me. She can seem a little...well out there sometimes. Like her heads not in the game. But there's something about Nudge that people know almost instantly when meeting her...she's compassionate. I think Nudge loves the world with all of her heart. She might be the only person in the whole Flock who actually does that. She can seem shallow on the surface with her obsession for fashion (never cared for it myself, hahaha) and her bubbly attitude but...well Nudge is Nudge. She's way smarter than a lot of people give her credit for and she can kick Eraser tail let me tell you.

Angel's the other girl in the group. She's the baby...or well she kind of used to be. I don't know how I get through everyday not shuddering in horror around her. Not because of Angel, not at all. It's not her fault she's like that. Something happened to her when she was kidnapped back...heck when was that? Well something happened and it messed our baby up. I'm furious about that to be honest with you, and I hope that the old Angel comes back. Sometimes she pops up, like when she got lost with Total and Akila in the frigid wasteland. Not something I'd like to repeat just to get cuddly Angel back mind you. Now she's got a bit of a leader-complex.

The Gasman. He's probably my best friend out of the whole group besides...well we'll get to that other person later. Gazzy is younger than I am by quite a few years but he understands me like no one else has. I'd call him a little brother but he doesn't annoy me like I hear kid brothers do sometimes. Maybe we're just good like that...and hey who wouldn't like hanging around a kid like Gaz? He's explosive, in more ways than one let me tell you. Not only does he have a tendency to be a very...lively person, but he likes things involving booms. Me too, I love fire. Fire is cool...or hot...whatever. Also there's the fact that Gazzy can...erm, make things smell pretty bad when it comes down to the wire.

Total and Akila are our special members of the group. It's kind of weird how close to Total we've all become, but he's definitely one of the Flock now. I only wish him and his lovely wife happiness. (How'd this turn into a bestman's speech?) Total can be a bit...on the talkative side. Which is weird considering he's a dog. Hahaha...Don't let him ever catch me writing something like that PLEASE. I'd never hear the end of it, trust me. Still, Total...and Akila too I think, they love us kids and it's kind of...nice to have that. We haven't gotten much love in our life you know.

Dylan's the new guy. He's...well nice. I like the guy to be honest with you. He's one of those people whose unfailingly honest (though I think it's kind of on accident...) but he seems to do things for other people with all his heart. He fought for us like he'd been with us his whole life, and to be honest with you he's really cool. I just don't know him very well yet.

Then there's Fang. Max, him and I are the three oldest of the Flock. Sometimes I'm not exactly counted into the group on account of the fact that...well I'm blind. They never SAY that, but it's kind of obvious that I'm not included in things like meetings over the Flock safety...anyways. Back to Fang. He's the kind of guy you'd have to know really well to get. He hardly ever shows any emotione, EVER, except for when it involves getting pissed or Max. (Blech...) Yet Fang plays the big brother pretty well. He would die before anyone in the Flock got even a scratch I think. He has a nasty habit of putting the logical ahead of other things though...like Max.

At first I was mad about that...and I think it was just because I was jealous. Ew, not of them being together. Max is, as I mentioned before, my sister. It's just that...sometimes I like hanging around people my own age you know? That completely flew out the window when they became buddy buddy. Gazzy's great and all, but how do you talk to a nine year old kid about how much you'd like to make out with the girl down the street. (Not that I want to make up with any girl down my street mind you, that's just an example)

Then...when we kicked them out I couldn't stop hating myself. I couldn't BELIEVE how idiotic I was being. Because I was older than the kids I had no excuse. I should have realized that it wasn't my petty feelings, and that both Max and Fang were adjusting. I should have realized that they loved each other, and instead decided to play the bad guy and try to tear them apart.

If I ever do that again, somebody come and kick my butt got it? Explain what you're doing first though, so I don't snap you in half or something on accident.

Well things seemed all happy-honkey-dory for them anyways after the Flock got back together. Then, after the big Fang-almost-died-because-some-people-are-freakin-psychotic-fight we thought everything recovered. You know, same ol' same ol'. Max and Fang...well they could be together. Fine by me, and it would just take a teeny bit of adjusting.

Then that freakin...idiot did something like this. This, as in left a note pouring out all of his feelings to Max but saying one thing over all. "See ya later toots."

Well maybe not in those exact words but STILL. It broke Max's heart. Our Max, the person who isn't fazed when facing down a bunch of hairy men who are freakin' half wolf, was broken hearted. Our Max, who could get us out of almost any situation because it was her JOB, couldn't leave her bed to eat because she was hurting so bad.

So needless to say that I was pissed. Because Max protected me all the time, and that made it hard to remember that we had to be there for her sometimes too. Well that's what I was doing now. Flying in the darkness (not that I could really tell the difference...) and the cold. I was looking for Fang to do two things. One; Tell him to get his feathered butt back home. Two; (pardon my French) Kick his ass up and down the street for being such a stupid butthead.

Because he didn't just leave Max. He left the Flock. He left all those kids afraid of what was going to happen, he left our leader in a pit of despair so freakin' deep that I don't think she'd be able to fly out on her own, thus leaving us in terrible danger. Because I don't think Angel is cut out to be leader, not yet. Fang was right about that.

And honestly I was a little pissed because he was my friend and he didn't even leave a freakin' HINT about anything. So that's how I found myself streaking through the cloudy sky with my fists clenched and my eyes closed because the cold wind was stinging them. (Not much use to keep them open anyways...)

I was alone too, and I think that was kind of a mistake. Okay, so it was a mistake. I'm BLIND for Pete's sake, and I went to go LOOK for somebody. Now can you tell me what exactly is the problem with that? I mean we avian hybrids have a pretty awesome way of knowing where we are almost all the time. Super sense of direction and all that jazz. Like now, I knew I was flying over Japan.

Maybe I should explain...I'd been at this for about three days. I figured that I wouldn't be missed...well actually I figured I'd be home way sooner than this. Truth is I just kept getting more and more frustrated, which made me feel incredibly stubborn. Basically, I got to the point where I didn't want to quit just to prove you didn't have to see to find things. It's not something super bright.

I don't like big cities much. I can get around a crowd filled with chaos without even getting touched usually, but big cities were kind of confusing. Lot's of distracting sounds and noises. I could deal but I usually ended up with a whopping headache by the end of the day. Still, even with that I was considering landing down there and asking somebody if they'd seen...somebody.

Which could get complicated because I don't really know Fang by how he looks...haven't been able to see for most of my life you know.

Oh, the language. I guess I should mention that. I never thought that Max's schooling kick would actually be worth something. I'd have to tell her otherwise when I dragged Fang back home. (Because I refuse to fail, no ifs ands or buts...) since thanks to that schooling thing I'd had an endless amount of language learning crap downloaded on my iPod. I learn things like that fast because...well what else is there to do but for me to listen? I managed to figure out how to get some food thanks to that and while I'm a little rough I think I can actually get better at it. I know what most people are saying.

It was around the time that I was considering this when a cold drop of water landed on my nose. Almost instantly following that I heard the rumble of thunder. I tipped my head to the side, and as I did this something in the air changed. Charged, almost instantly. I don't know how I wasn't hit, logically I should have been barbeque, but I wasn't. The bolt of lightning seared the air so close to me that when the next rumble of thunder hit I felt it in my chest.

Little fact about lightning, it likes to hit things that are high up. So; Flying bird-kids plus lightning equals fried hybrid. Not something that is pleasant. The wind was hard to fight, and I all but dive bombed for the earth. I winced slightly as a sudden gust got beneath my wings and they snapped back painfully. I was jerked head over heels backwards.

I lowered myself to the ground, and knew by the feeling of the gusting wind that I was in a city. Well DUH I could hear cars and stuff too. I must have landed in an alley because I could feel pebbles underfoot. The rain was coming down hard, and I folded my wings back so that I wouldn't have an unfortunate repeat of last time. I took a deep breath to calm myself. The others would NEVER let me live it down if they found me freaking out.

_Click!_ I tensed up instantly. I knew that sound better than a lot of people my age. The clicking sound made when somebody cocks a handgun. I heard the slightest crunch in gravel behind me and whirled around to face my new enemy. Whoever this was, they were good at hiding themselves. I hadn't even realized they were there.

They...two of them. I knew it by the shifting of weight from foot to foot by another person. I doubt he was the one with the gun, because there was something cold and calculating in that click. Something that told me that person wasn't somebody who hopped nervously from foot to foot. I grimaced a little, "Yo."

"Where the hell did this kid come from?" One guy said nervously, in Japanese of course. For your sake I'll write it out as english as best as I can though. I was just getting ready for a U and A (I'd take lightning over people with guns any day thank you) when I heard another sound. Another person was in the alley.

"H-help..." I heard. A woman. She was asking for help. I felt suddenly torn. I couldn't just leave somebody to die now could I? Talk about guilt. I'd probably never live it down. So I did what any other mutant bird-kid would do in a hostage situation. I kicked the calm guy as hard as I could in the chest. Now I'm stronger than an average person. Way stronger. I could feel the guys ribs crack under the kick, and the other guy yelped in surprise. I managed to sock him in the stomach, thanks to his little outburst.

See, being blind doesn't mean you can't kick ass. I knelt down and helped the woman to her feet. She was stammering something so quickly that my poor Japanese skills had a hard time picking up on. I struggled to understand when it finally came to me so very clearly. Unfortunately the instant it did something metallic and cold was pressed against my temple. "Behind you, behind you!"

Being held at gunpoint is not recommended. It is very unpleasant, and I actually hurt the girl I was helping by gripping her hands so hard out of my sudden onslaught of fear. I knew it was the calm guy, because the other guy was groaning on the ground. My head was spinning and I felt like slamming my head in a wall for my stupidity.

You see, I'm used to fighting in a group. Meaning that there is ALWAYS somebody watching my back. Out of habit I had assumed that I was covered, and that I wouldn't have to worry about a baddy sneaking up on me. I knew that Max would KILL me if she ever found out about this. She would KILL me because I had been stupid enough not to make sure I got the gun away from him. She would kill me because I got myself in a whole lot of trouble because I did something stupid.

_She probably won't have to._ I thought, my mouth felt dry and I had loosened my hold on the woman. The man breathed out an angry sigh, "You're a strong little bastard..." The man said, and I could hear the cold smile that I bet was on his face. The woman whimpered as the gun was pulled from my head. I was about to roundhouse kick him in the face when the butt slammed into the back of my skull.

I pitched forward, and moaned a little involuntarily. Okay OW that really hurt. It felt like...well it felt like someone just slammed something hard against my head that's what it felt like. The woman was the only thing holding me up right now. I could feel unconsciousness coming at me and I honestly didn't care for it all that much.

She screamed before he did it, and my muddled head could hardly make out the reaction until I felt the blood splatter against my face. I fell forward on top of her, and felt a wave of horror and revulsion so strong that I was thrown onto the brink of panic. I should have flown away. I could have easily knocked the bastard back by just opening my wings. But...but...

It was like everything had been wiped out of my head. That woman had been alive...she had wanted my help, and now she was dead. She was horribly still and there was blood all over my face and it was hers. I've never felt so horrified that my mind couldn't work. I was frozen in absolute horror, and when the gun clicked against my temple I almost screamed too. Only nothing happened. I heard a hiss of annoyance.

"Only one bullet. Damn." The man snarled. I was trembling all over and suddenly didn't care if I was freaking out. I wanted Max there, and I wanted her there NOW. I wanted all of my friends to come from nowhere and save my ass because I was so screwed if they didn't.

"He's seen our faces, we can't just let him go." The other guy wheezed. I blinked in shock.

Oh, ha-ha, that was rich. So I was going to get killed for seeing two baddies without ever actually SEEING them because I happen to be blind. Oh the irony. I felt like I should protest, should point out the fact that I couldn't have seen their faces due to my impairment but I never got the chance to. I couldn't because my mind was in processing mode and my body seemed to be refusing to do anything I told it.

Again, if I survived this Max was going to kill me.

"Of course..." The man laughed, and my mouth was suddenly shoved open. I gagged as something was shoved down my throat, and when I was let go I fell on top of the dead woman. I rolled off and decided now would be a good time to fly out of here. I struggled to stand but my legs wouldn't work. The two men ignored me...I didn't exist anymore. "The poison should work, and it's untraceable so nobody will guess what's happened. Hell they might even think he fell off the building or something. Grab the woman though. No evidence can be left behind."

Then the pain started. I've never felt anything like it. My heart was thudding so hard in my chest that it felt like it would burst out of my rib cage. I felt like my skin was on fire, and the pain radiated to the very core of all my bones. I cried out in agony, but the sound came out garbled and choked. I knew without a doubt that I was dying.

"That's what you get for playing the hero." The calm man said, and he spit on me. I trembled with pain. I found myself rolling over and curling into a ball. The alley was silent now, I didn't have any clue when the two men had left but I was utterly alone. I gasped for air and struggled to stand up.

"Max...Nudge...Gazzy...Angel...Dylan... ... ... Fang..." I croaked. I needed my family. They'd make it better somehow. We always got out of things. Pain tore through me, and I gagged. Did I want to be saved at that point? No. Not anymore. I suddenly realized that I wanted my friends there so that they could put me out of my misery. It was a terrible thought, and I don't think they could have killed me even if they knew the pain I was in. But..."Let...me...die..."

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I passed out. I knew it because...well I was waking up. I groaned, and felt a wave of inner relief. The pain was gone. Well, my head hurt like hell but I don't think that really counted. I struggled to sit up, which I did v e r y slowly and held my head. Oh jeez I felt a little sick to my stomach but otherwise I was okay.

So good thing! I wasn't dead! Take that evil baddies! I groaned as I struggled to my feet and tripped over...my pants? Okay, that was weird, I had to hold them up just to make sure they wouldn't fall down. The sleeves of my jacket kept slipping over my hands too. Not that I wanted to ponder on that much. I needed to get the hell away from that alley, in case those guys came back to make sure I was dead.

Flying would have been stupid at that point, I could barely walk straight. So I stumbled and limped my way out of the alley until I heard the chatter of people. It must have been day time, because I could feel the sun on my face. I leaned against the wall and tried to gather my thoughts when I heard somebody gasp in horror.

It must have been my appearance. I remembered that I was covered in blood from the woman in the alley and my stomach heaved a little. That's not even mentioning the fact that my own blood was probably mixed in there too, from my head wound. My hair had been dry and stiff under my fingers when I grabbed it. It must have been a young woman who knelt in front of me, by the sound of her voice I'd guess like twenty, "Boy-san are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I lied, in English automatically and quickly repeated this in Japanese. Then I blinked in surprise. That was...odd there seemed to be something wrong with my voice.

"You're covered in blood little boy." A man said, grabbing my shoulder. I jerked away in surprise. That guy's hand was HUGE. I mean...I'm a little scrawny to begin with. We have to be, but it seemed strange how big the guys hand was. In fact, if I really focused I think he was taller than me. WAY taller. (This is done by me figuring out where the voice was coming, which was over my head obviously. I was slumped but not THAT slumped...)

"You must be like twelve feet tall." I said, my voice sounded so little that it surprised me again. I didn't have to see to know the weird look that earned me, the silence that followed my sentence was enough to fill me in. "I'm over six feet tall and you're towering over me!"

"Eh? Six feet tall?" The guy said, and actually laughed at me. Okay, THAT'S a weird reaction. It was a nervous laugh though, filled with some concern, "Come on little guy we should take you to a hospital. You've been badly hurt I think."

"Little guy?" I said, he'd called me little boy earlier too. What the HELL. I don't think I've EVER been called that. I'm TALL for my age for crying out loud! Most people thought I was OLDER than I looked. I felt a flash of panic, "I'm a teenager."

I said this in my driest and most sarcastic of voices. Yet the response I got was to be scooped up INTO THE WOMAN'S ARMS. I literally blanched. I couldn't help it. I was so freakin' surprised that for a moment I couldn't even move. It was IMPOSSIBLE for me to have been picked up so easily by a person...it...it was almost like...

I was a child.

I managed to struggle free and then I was running. The woman yelled after me and the man made a grab for me but he missed by a long-shot I'm guessing. Word passed through the crowd quickly and I was dodging more than two pairs of hands after awhile, "Stop that kid!"

So it was time to fly. I knew that I could end up killing myself, flying with a head injury is stupid but I NEEDED to get out of there. My wings snapped open and I heard several exclamations of surprise as I launched myself in the air. Somebody yelped as one of my shoes fell off, and I'm guessing it hit them in the head.

I landed sloppily in what must have been a schoolyard or something. I say sloppily because I slammed into the side of a slide or something and fell down. It hurt like hell, and I felt very winded as I sat on the ground trying to catch my breath. I had been flying way lower than I had assumed. I folded my wings with a groan, and sat up.

Those people were probably still after me. I pulled myself under the shade of the slide, and pulled my knees to my chest. I felt a smirk cross my features when the bell rang. _If you want to hide a tree, use a forest._ The sound of children met my ears, but my stomach had plummeted at my thoughts. Thinking that meant that the impossible had happened. That I had somehow been turned into a kid.

"Oi, oi!" I heard, and every one of my muscles suddenly tensed. It was the voice of a girl, and I could tell by the sound of her breathing that she was peeking under the slide. I had a very irrational want to snarl like a cornered animal. Something that's not recommended EVER, cornering wounded avian-human hybrids. "Come and see! I've found somebody strange!"

_Oh if you only knew little girl._ I thought to myself, and managed a weak half-smile in her direction. Several people joined her, all children by the sounds of it. "Ayumi-kun that is not a pleasant way of speaking." A boy's voice said, and I felt the curiousity of the girl pique as I turned my head toward the voice. "Oh...hello who are you?"

"Ah..." I said. Hey, give me a break, "Erm...I..."

"Do you have any food?" Another voice whined, "I'm starving."

Which reminded me that I was hungry. Ravenous really, see we bird kids have a very fast metabolism. I need to eat a LOT. I clutched at my stomach but remained mute merely because I could think of nothing to say. There was something about them though...they were surprised. I could hear one of them suck in a breath of surprise. The other...well I could just feel it.

"I'm Edogawa Conan. This is Ayumi-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun, Genta-kun and Haibara-san." One boy said, crawling under the slide. His tone of voice surprised me. It reminded me of an older person trying to keep a child calm, and I was reminded of how I'd been picked up on the street so easily before. "You've been hurt by something...and...you're wearing..."

"His clothes are rather large aren't they?" Another girl said, Haibara, I assumed, in a voice that was strangely cold for a kid her age. It kind of creepily reminded me of Angel actually. I tipped my head to the side and blinked. Yes...my clothes were large.

"Is he mute?" Ayumi asked, poking at me. I swatted her hand away a little impatiently. This was beginning to get irritating, and if those people noticed a crowd of children like this they'd find me. It would be a good idea to hurry up and get myself out of this situation as soon as possible.

"I'm not mute." I said, growled actually. I felt her recoil from me as though I'd physically punched her or something. Not my problem, forgive me if I was a little on the testy side but...suddenly an idea came to me. I needed confirmation, and kids were unfailingly honest people. "Hey! Hold on, can you...tell me how old I look?"

"What an odd question to ask." The other girl mused quietly. I snorted at her and crossed my arms over my chest waiting for my answer. I didn't care HOW odd the question was, I NEEDED that answer. Though I knew an instant before it came that it wasn't going to be something I liked.

"Five or six..." One boy said warily, then he seemed suddenly interested in me because he yelled, "Do I get food for guessing right or something?"

I hardly heard him because I was in shock. Five or six? Five or six!? I was probably doing a rather interesting impression of a gold-fish because the kids knew that something was wrong. Finally, I leaned back against the slide and croaked, "Oh heck no..."

"Are you alright?" The Conan kid said...that would be his name right? The Japanese people say their last names first and then their first names so...whatever. No kid, I sure as heck wasn't alright. I was about to freak out. I got to my feet too quickly and slammed my head on the bottom of the slide. I'm very embarassed to say that that little stunt I pulled earned me another bout of unconsciousness.

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_**HA! So chapter one is finished!**_

_**I'm not used to using the Japanese names so...**_

_**Oh well, I'm working on it. If I do stuff wrong just tell me NICELY...don't call me stupid or something or I'll feel sad.**_


	2. Secret Organizations and Little Brothers

_Disclaimer;_

_Own it I do not..._

_**-cackles- Iggy's fun to play with.**_

_**Gah I love him. :3**_

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_Chapter Two- Secret Organizations and Brothers_

When I woke up I wasn't outside. I was in someone's house, there was tea going somewhere, and I was on a couch. I sat up and winced, my head felt like...well like it'd been hit several times. I was rubbing my head when I heard the two voices. Two of the kids I'd met earlier today.

"I told you the day would come when we met another like us Kudou-kun." The girl, Haibara, said. I tipped my head to one side as I listened to her talk. What the heck did THAT mean? "It was only a matter of time."

"Perhaps he knows some information about the syndicate." The boy who had called himself Conan mused. I felt the surprise spike in the air from the two when they noticed I was awake. And I'M the blind one. For lack of anything else to do I waved in the direction their voices had been. "You're awake."

"Oh, so our patient must be feeling better." A new voice actually startled me. The heavier footsteps of a big guy sounded on the carpet and he hovered over me, "Has Shinichi told you everything yet?"

"Eh?" I said. Seems like I'm not the kind of person to say full sentences. I winced and added, for the sake of sounding a little intelligent at least, "No, nobody's told me anything. Do you guys have something important to say to me?"

"You were poisoned yes?" Haibara said in a blunt and cold way that I decided was way CREEPIER than anything that Angel had managed to do before. I felt a flash of surprise that was instantly replaced by something ingrained into me from years of being chased by scientists. Wariness.

"You know about that?" I finally said, narrowing my eyes. It's kind of hard, in case you were wondering, to give accurate death-glares when you're blind. You have to guess where that person is, and where they can best see the death-glare. Too much trouble most of the time.

"You see, I was correct." Haibara said a little snidely. Conan made a snorting noise that I agreed with a little. She turned to me and said, "We both have had the same thing happen to us actually. Though I took the drug on purpose...I am currently working on an antidote for it. Unfortunately the one I have works only for a short period of time. You are the third person to actually survive my poison."

"Your poison." I said dryly.

"Haibara-san is the doctor that created it." Conan explained. Or...was he Conan? Haibara had called him Kudou earlier, and the other guy had mentioned something about a Shinichi..."Dr. Agasa is working with her to find the cure."

"Doctor." I said, and inwardly shuddered. I've had bad experience with people who like wearing lab-coats, doctors and scientists alike. People like that are the reason the Flock has spent most of our lives running from people. We don't particularly like those who are in the proffession of science.

"That would be me." The other man said, mistaking my outburst for a confused question. "Doctor Agasa. I work on many inventions, many of them Shinichi here uses to continue solving cases."

"Cases?" I queried, and added, "Conan's Shinichi isn't he? I had a feeling he was lying about something."

"I'll explain when you explain." Came the strangely cool reply from the other boy. I seriously considered just saying 'no thanks' and heading out the door. Still they happened to have something that I needed...an antidote, or at least one that was being made. Even if it was being developed...I don't think I could STAND the embarassment of having to explain how this whole mess happened to the Flock. Not to mention the fact that Max was going to kill me. "What's your name? You never told us..."

"Iggy." I replied, "Just Iggy. Nothing else. I ended up getting...a little lost while looking for...my brother of sorts. I found myself in an alley and decided to try and help a woman who was being held at gunpoint there. I couldn't...make myself leave...it was stupid and didn't get me anything. She died anyway."

I felt a flash of rage towards the two men. They would pay. I'd make sure of it somehow. I had failed to save her but there was no way in hell I was going to let those two guys get away with her murder. Haibara said slowly, "You got in their way...plus they probably thought you saw them. You didn't see them though, did you, you're blind."

"Yesssss..." I replied, "I don't think it matters. Even if they knew I was blind they would have tried killing me. I don't think that guy liked it when I broke his ribs...It's his fault for not dodging in time. I mean really..."

"So basically you're just like me." Conan/Shinichi sighed, sounding incredibly irritated, "Somebody who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dammit, and I thought you'd have some information too..."

"So what happened to YOU then?" I asked, to be completely honest with you I was curious. I could care less about freaky-scientist-child-girl-thing, but this Shinichi guy..."You were in the wrong place at the wrong time as well?"

"Kudou-kun is a detective." Haibara said.

"My real name is Kudou Shinichi." He explained, sounding a little irritated. "When I was at the theme park with a friend of mine I stumbled on a black-mailing over a company that was smuggling drugs. I got caught and practically brained with something. Then they fed me that medicine and I shrunk. I ran here and convinced Doc who I was. Then I became Edogawa Conan to protect my friends and family. I live with Mouri-san...you may have heard of him, the sleeping sleuth?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." I replied, feeling a little bored. Still something was bothering me. Something a little important. "You're staying with your friend so that they won't find you at home right? Erm...I kind of don't have anywhere to go...and I'm assuming it would be best to stay close to you guys."

It kind of killed me. As embarassed as I would be to face the Flock like this saying that made me feel a stab of loneliness. Were they worried about me? Thinking about that made me realize I hadn't exactly been what you'd call 'smooth' about leaving. I left a note, which, as I pondered about it, was something rather insensitive since that's how Fang said goodbye for good. It sounded like I didn't have anybody to turn to, and I KNEW that I technically did. Yet I felt a stab of something else at the thought of approaching my family, reluctance. Max had enough trouble without creepy crime bosses running after her too. Not saying she couldn't handle it, just saying that it's one more thing I don't want to heap onto her plate.

"You could stay here." Dr. Agasa said, and I shuddered. No way, no how, was I going to live in the same house with two scientists. I didn't really trust anybody in the group but those two were definitely toward the top of the not-likely-to-let-them-watch-my-back list. I was a little surprised when creepy-small-scientist unknowingly came to my aide with that though.

"I don't think that would work. He may just get in our way." She said, as rude and slightly annoying that comment was I could almost kiss her. Almost, not quite. She was still really creepy. The room fell silent with thinking and I heard the Doctor pound his fist into the palm of his hand. (I'm so super awesome, knowing what that sounds like...)

"Then he'll have to stay with you Shinichi." Dr. Agasa said. I actually had to stop myself from laughing at Shinichi's reply, which was basically the word 'what' drawn out in surprise. Dr. Agasa placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "Yes, you can tell Mouri-san that Iggy-kun is your brother."

"We look nothing alike!" Shinichi stammered.

"I can't see the difference." I said cheerfully, I could almost see the death-glare that I got in response. So I just leaned back into the couch and added, "I think it's a good suggestion Shinichi. You could say that I was adopted or something..."

"And that you two were very close and that Iggy-kun missed you and thought it was unfair that you were living with a famous detective. Besides, you would miss your brother too! I'll even set it up for you Shinichi!" I could literally hear the smile in Dr. Agasa's voice. Haibara agreed with us, and Shinichi was the only one left to gripe. Lucky him.

"How old are you?" The detective finally asked, I leaned against the couch leisurely and arched an eyebrow in his direction. He added with an irritable snort, "I mean originally. What's your age?"

"Fifteen..." I finally said, a little warily.

"So you're my little brother." I could almost hear the smile in his voice. I opened my mouth to protest, I was sure that I was taller than Shinichi anyways. Actually we were the same height, since I was technically five years old I guess that kind of made sense. I would be about tall as somebody who looked older than me. "Fine, I'll go back home. If we do this right you'll be in as easy as anything."

"Sure." I replied, and listened as he ran out of the house. After a moment I scratched my arms and said, "Could I take a bath or something to get this blood off?"

"Yes, and you'll need some fitting clothing as well." Agasa said, and led me to the bathroom. When the door closed behind me I heaved a nervous sigh. I didn't know what I was going to do. I wanted to go home to the Flock, but I was so reluctant to bring any trouble to their door...and I hadn't found Fang yet either.

**

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**

Two hours later I was in a car with Dr. Agasa on my way to the Mouri Detective Agency. I shifted a little uncomfortably in the new clothes. They were some of 'Conan's' and I hoped he didn't want them back because I slit holes in the back. That was going to be a tad hard to explain... I was being told that it was technically improper of me to call people by just their names, something that I must have missed on my iPod lessons. Oops. I should add -kun or -san to it depending on who I was talking to. Even -sama or -sensei. It was a little confusing, and in my opinion completely ridiculous.

I missed the Flock severely, and as I stepped onto the sidewalk I felt a strange stab of guilt. They were probably looking for me right now, and I was playing little brother with somebody I hardly knew. I shook my head and followed Agasa up the stairs. He kept wanting to guide me, which was a little annoying. I'm blind but I can walk just fine thank you.

"Remember, you are a little kid." Dr. Agasa reminded me. Which honestly didn't help. When I was a little kid I had been shoved in a dog crate...in other words my childhood wasn't exactly what most kids faced in their life. Still I managed to give him a thumbs-up sign and he rang the bell.

"Iggy-kun!" Shinichi yelled when the door opened, in a voice that was a little creepily high-pitched. I was surprised when he hugged me, and a second later I heard him say in a chipperish voice, "I've missed you so much!"

I will never have a career in acting. "I've...missed you too Conan...kun." I added the 'kun' part a little hastily, remembering it at the last second. Hey, you know what give me a freakin' break. I was a little caught off guard by Shinichi playing the super-cute-little-kid part so...well, creepily well.

"Whozzat now?" A rather drunken voice said, and I was pushed in the room by Agasa. I felt very trapped, and suddenly longed for my friends again. Another thing that I couldn't see without them, exits. It was a habit of ours to memorize every way out of a room when we entered it, especially with people we didn't know. I didn't have that luxury without them. I felt a little claustrophobic.

Still I managed to put on a better act than before. I'm a little proud of myself actually. I pouted a little, imagining the way that Angel sounded when she was a little hurt about something. (Before she got a bit on the creepy side. Don't get me wrong, I love Angel with all of my heart but...well...erhem...) "You didn't tell them about me Conan-niisan?"

"Tell us...?" A girl that must have been about seventeen said, I felt a soft hand on my head and blinked a little at the gesture. She was...very gentle. She kind of reminded me of Max's mom actually.

"This is my little brother, Edogawa Iggy!" Shinichi chippered, and I actually wanted to rid myself of the cuteness that seemed to seep from him to me. Oh good lord if the Flock ever saw me playing cute little boy they'd probably die of laughter. I don't think I've EVER acted like a small child, even when I was a child! Again, with the dog-crate thing..."I guess I forgot to talk about him."

"You're mean Conan-niisan." I said, stealing Angel's pouting voice again. Shinichi made like he was apologizing to me over and over as Agasa walked into the room behind us.

"About four years ago Conan-kun's parents adopted Iggy-kun." Agasa explained as Shinichi and I chattered brainlessly about some show about a guy called...Yaiba or something like that. It was all improve, and again I'm proud to say that I was pulling it off rather well. There is hope for my acting career yet, "He's been missing Conan-kun so much that apparently he's been feeling sickly. Mouri-sama I was wondering...if you would be willing to take Iggy-kun in so he could stay with his niisan?"

"No." The man said flatly and before even thinking about it. I was a little caught off guard. Shinichi had said that I would probably be able to pull off getting to stay here. Yet the guy shot me down without a second thought.

"Dad don't be heartless!" The girl said, suddenly grabbing my hand. "You can't just send him away! If he misses Conan-kun so much then we should let him stay!"

"And his parents will add more money to their checks of course." Agasa added. Shinichi stumbled a little at this and I laughed inwardly. Something told me that Shinichi's real parents had a hand in this charade, and were going to end up a little blind-sided by this surprise. I could only hope they would be able to compensate for me.

"Of COURSE he can stay!" The man was suddenly singing a totally different tune. I blinked in bewilderment and actually felt my face drop as the realization that this guy would do anything for money struck me. What a wonderful man. (That final statement being completely and totally sarcastic of course)

"I'm Mouri Ran." The girl said to me, very gently. "You can call me Ran-neechan if you like Iggy-kun, Conan-kun does all the time."

"Kay Ran-neechan!" I said, and I think I must have managed to be extra cute because she hugged me after I smiled at her. Sheesh that girl had a bit of a grip. I struggled not to have my face turn bright red. Hey! I just got hugged by a teenaged girl okay, and I don't usually go by looks but I can tell you just from that hug that she's a very physically fit person. Erhem...

"Iggy-kun is blind, but it shouldn't be much of a problem. He can handle himself very well." Agasa explained. I felt the eyes of Mouri and his daughter on me and I squirmed a little bit. Ran was making me the most uncomfortable, I could feel the sympathy coming off of her in waves. Sheesh.

"Great, a kid who's damaged on top of a freeloader." Mouri drawled drunkenly from his place in his chair. I'm not much for rude gestures, but had I not been a kid I would have liked to flip him off rather nicely for that comment. Only that's something I shouldn't do because people could get caught in the line of fire and all...

Agasa excused himself saying that he had a lot of work to get to and disappeared from the room. I felt suddenly awkward, and unsure of what to say or do next. Who the heck knew being a little kid could be so hard? I was saved from having to do anything after an uncomfortable silence that lasted for almost an entire minute when I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Someone's here!" I said, it was an automatic reaction to give the people a heads-up around me when I heard somebody approaching. I felt myself flush almost instantly and knew without seeing that they were all looking at me weird. "I'm sorry, I heard-"

The bell rang, cutting my sentence off and rescuing me from having to say anymore. Mouri grumbled something about not letting somebody in when the door slid open. Something changed the mans mind, because he was suddenly ecstatic and practically threw me to get to the door. I yelped and stumbled, only to be caught by Ran.

"I'm sorry..." Ran said, as if it were her fault for the way that idiot acted. I was about to scathingly point out that she had no need to apologize when I noticed something...slightly odd. It was a smell, and I knew it instantly. I tipped my head to the side and blinked twice.

"Gunpowder?" I said, obviously startling everybody in the room because the chatter fell quiet. "Eh? Oh...erm...I was wondering what it was! Conan-niisan what's gunpowder!?"

I have no idea why I said that, it kind of didn't make sense. I could have explained that the woman practically reeked of it, and since it happened to be something I was familiar with (thanks to Gazzy and my lovely run-ins with several psychos) it easily stuck out to me. Shinichi said hesitantly, "It's the stuff that makes the stuff in guns explode. Like bullets and stuff..."

"Oh...cool." I said, flashing a smile but squirming under the sudden curiousity that seemed to seep out of Shinichi. Sheesh this guy was sharp, I'd have to watch out for that...if he wasn't on my side that could bite me in the rear. I fell silent and decided to listen to whatever they were talking about.

"It's my husband." The woman said, after the uncomfortable pause she seemed a little on edge. I'd be on edge too if somebody just noticed I smelled like an explosive substance. "He's gone missing."

"What did you mean by that?" Shinichi whispered, startling me. I blinked and made a face as he added, "It might be important Iggy-kun, please tell me what you meant."

"I have a better sense of smell than most people, hearing too, since I'm blind." I said. _Plus I happen to be a mutant, but we're not going to get into that one buddy._ "Gunpowder is something that I'm a little familiar with, I'd know that smell anywhere and that woman reeks of it."

"Of gunpowder?" Shinichi said, and I got the sensation that while he knew everything I was saying he was on a completely different planet too. That's...interesting. I felt a twinge of amusement and nearly jumped out of my skin when Mouri yelled very loudly.

"Mouri Kogoro is on the case! Have no worry ma'am!" He cried, and I blinked and laughed a little inwardly. _I bet she's really pretty. Something tells me this guy's a bit of a pervert._

* * *

_Meanwhile, several thousand miles away;;_

Gazzy was hating this more than anything in the world. Fang had disappeared nearly two weeks ago, and Max STILL hadn't come out of her room. To make things worse this was the fourth day in a row that he hadn't seen Iggy. Three days ago he had noticed his friend was nowhere in sight. He'd assumed that Iggy was fuming in his room or something but...

Then Total had explained that he hadn't seen Iggy either. Neither had Nudge or Angel. Angel said she couldn't sense Iggy anywhere and...well when only one of the Flock is a really good cook you're bound to notice when they disappear. So Gazzy found himself opening the door to Iggy's room and praying that his friend was going to be listening to a book or something. Maybe even the one he got from Fang for his birthday.

Nobody had been there. Just a note with the words messily scrawled (it's hard to write when you're blind you know) on it's white surface: **BRB, don't worry bout me. Solving problem.**

That wasn't good. That meant that Iggy left, and Gazzy could guess why. To look for Fang. At first Gazzy didn't know what to do, he was sure that Iggy would be back before the end of the day. Iggy was blind, but he could take care of himself. Then one day turned into two, and two days into three, and three into four...

So that was why he was standing in front of Max's door, hating himself for taking it to her but not knowing what else to do. Gazzy twisted the knob and peeked inside. His heart twinged a little. He didn't like seeing Max like that, she was always the strong one of the group but this had taken her down worse than anything he'd ever seen before. Except maybe when she thought that Fang was going to DIE.

"Max?" Gazzy said tenatively, she lifted her head and put on a fake smile. For his sake, he knew with all of his heart. Slowly he closed the door behind him and stared down at his feet and blurted, "Max Iggy went to go find Fang and he hasn't come back."

"Iggy...left?" Max said slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly. Gazzy didn't know what he'd do if she regressed further. The mere thought terrified him. He was happily surprised when she sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed with a snort. "To go find Fang? He asked us not to look for him."

Gazzy knew exactly what his friend would say to that. Fang asked MAX not to go looking for him. Max must have realized this too and she looked a little annoyed. "He was worried about you I think."

"Right." Max groaned, "That idiot, when did he go now? A few hours ago? We should be able to catch up to him pretty easily..."

"Four days ago." Angel said from behind Gazzy, startling the boy and making Max's head whip around. Gazzy was both a little afraid for Iggy and overjoyed to see that spark of fury enter Max's eyes. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner Max it's just that things have been..."

"We still look for him though right?" That was Dylan, peeking his head in. Nudge didn't say anything, merely nodded her head nervously and began to wring her hands. "If Iggy gets hurt because of this I won't forgive..."

Dylan was cut off when Nudge elbowed him in the stomach. Gazzy winced. As angry as they were with Fang, he didn't think it'd be too good to badmouth the dark teen over this. Max stayed silent for a moment, and a look of sadness entered her eyes that made Gazzy wince.

"This is all because I wouldn't quit being all mopey." She said, sounding bitter and utterly pissed at herself. Gazzy blinked as she stood up and rolled her shoulders, "Right, first we get some food. We're going to find Iggy, and I'm going to beat him to a bloody pulp when we do because it was really stupid to do this."

**

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**

_**I'm loving this fanfiction so much.**_

_**It's tons of fun to write, but really challenging because of Iggy's blindness...**_


	3. A Murder of Gunpowder and Rust

_Disclaimer;_

_Not mine, not mine, not miiine!_

_**So I've decided that Haibara and Iggy are probably going to be a future couple...ish...**_

_**Whether it will develop past secret affection is a secret for you. -grins-**_

_**Ashimattack- Lawl, I so agree. Iggy needs more screentime in MR...big time. I will continue writing it, I have big plans for this fanfiction I just hope other people will like it. Yes, the other characters are from Detective Conan. Also, the whole teen changing into a small child thing is from Detective Conan. (the main plot of that particular anime) If you like mystery, anime and action I really suggest that you watch that show. It's very good. :3**_

_**Detective Thief- ZOMFG! DARKEH! -glomps- Niichan? Oh, right. XP I noticed that today as well while watching a Heiji episode. Thankies for the tip.**_

_**NOTES:**_

_**Oba-san means Auntie or Lady**_

_**Oji-san means Uncle or Man**_

_**Otou-san is Father**_

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_Chapter Three- A Murder of Gunpowder and Rust_

Detective Mouri quickly got ready and was down the stairs only moments after declaring his vow to solve this case. Shinichi shoved me forward, and caught me a little off guard. "Come on! We need to keep up or we'll get left behind!" He hissed in my ear. I blinked and felt a twinge of confusion.

I managed to scramble into the taxi a heartbeat before Ran and Shinichi followed me. Mouri was settled into the seat before he seemed to even take note of us, "What? You guys are coming again too? And you've brought that new freeloader as well...tch..."

"Don't complain so much." Ran chastised, the tone of her voice made me think that she was either very used to this situation or bored with what was going on entirely. "Conan-kun and I come to your cases all the time. It's only fair if we bring Iggy-kun along as well."

The two began bickering, and I took this as a chance to lean in closer to Shinichi. "Shinichi-kun..." I hissed, he tensed up considerably at that and covered my mouth. Really I doubt anybody else in the car would have even noticed if it weren't for the way he reacted. Now I could feel Ran and Mouri's gazes on me. "Mmmmf!"

"We're playing a game!" Shinichi said chipperly. The moment seemed to have passed and Shinichi hissed furiously in my ear, "That's Conan-kun baka! Do you want them to find out about what happened to us? Sheesh..."

This confused me. I had already guessed that Shinichi was using his fake name to decieve these people, but there seemed to be a bit more urgency in it than just staying out of an embarassing situation. The thing I needed to know was how Ran was connected to Shinichi...did she know only Conan or had she known Shinichi before he was changed into a child like me? "Who is Ran to you?" I queried.

I was entirely amused by this reaction. He didn't reply for a long time, not because he was serious and pondering about it hard or anything. No, it was because he was clearly embarassed. He COULD have replied, heck I'm sure he was trying as hard as he could TO reply. However he couldn't seem to get the words out. "Wh-wh-who she is to me?"

"Yes...does she know Shinichi-kun?" I queried, "Or is she just Conan-kun's older sister?"

He paused for a moment, and I realized that he was listening to Ran and Mouri argue. Making sure that they were paying no attention to us. Finally he whispered very softly, "You remember that I told you that when I went to an amusement park to a friend this happened to me? Ran was that friend...we've...been...friends since we were kids."

"Or more than friends?" I said, with a slight smirk. I hadn't missed the hesitation when he said the word 'friend'. This comment finally attracted attention to us, and I heard them cease in the conversation. "So? Why haven't you told her the truth...if she was there with you when everything happened..."

"SHHHH!" Shinichi hissed, sounding desperate to cut my conversation off. Again, something that wasn't very bright on his part. I'd have to point out somehow that doing that just made things worse. He laughed nervously, and I could imagine that he was probably looking at Ran and Mouri.

"What are you two talking about?" Ran asked, I could hear the smile in her voice. Shinichi struggled to come up with something to cover up our conversation when I noticed that the car was going to come to a stop. Good, I hate riding in cars. The space is too confined and I have a hard time figuring out where I am.

"Ooooh...it's big!" Shinichi said, putting on that slightly creepy little kid's voice. That was also something I was going to have to talk to my new companion about. That happened to give me the creeps a little bit to be honest with you. Blech. "Oji-san, Ran-neechan is this where that Oba-san lives?"

"My name is Karakura Minami little one." The woman said, obviously startling Shinichi. Me? I'd heard her walking up on us from almost a mile away I swear. High-heeled shoes make a lot of noise on gravel. I hopped out of the car and leaned against the fender.

"How big is it Conan-niichan?" I queried. I guessed that the sun had already set, it was particularly cool out right now and I didn't smell any rain or snow in the air. Otherwise I may have been able to figure out the approximate size of the building by gauging what time it was an if we were standing in shadow. As it was...

"Eh?" Shinichi sounded confused for a moment. I blinked at him calmly, waiting for it to sink in. Sometimes it's rather amusing to observe people who forget about certain things. They tend to feel really embarassed or bad about it for some reason. I honestly can't imagine why. I'd rather have people forget I was blind more often then stumble around me trying to make up for the fact that I can't see. Still, it kind of was bad acting for him since he was supposed to be my older brother and all. "Oh! It's got at least two floors, and that's not considering a basement. It's pretty wide too..."

"There are thirty rooms inside the home." Karakura said, ruffling my hair. I didn't like that much, something about her bothered me. She was on edge...not like she was worried about something so much as expecting it. I wondered if I should ask something when Shinichi piped up with fake child-like curiousity.

"Are you waiting for something Oba-san? You keep glancing at your watch." Shinichi's chipper voice seemed to strike a cord in the woman, she recoiled away from me as if she had been slapped. I blinked at that. What was so bad about a little kid asking you why you kept looking at your watch? She was weird...

I started at the sound of a ringtone. Hey, I was deep in thought alright and it seemed to come out of nowhere. Karakura let out an embarassed laugh and I heard her rummaging through her purse. "Where? Oh! It's a text message from my husband...he says he's home now...I suppose I had no need of your service Mouri-sama..."

I lifted my head and looked in the direction of the house. Something...was bothering me. A sound. I couldn't quite pinpoint it at first but then I realized what it was. The sound of a flame, of somebody striking a match. I barely had a moment to register this, because the next thing I knew the entire world was ablaze.

An explosion rocked the area, and I was thrown back into Shinichi who must have fallen against Ran. Everybody hit the ground, and I covered my head with my arms to protect myself from any fallen rubble. There was the crunch of gravel somewhere to my left. Karakura shrieked, and her screams were suddenly cut off very abruptly. I lifted my head and kept my face shielded. "Karakura-san? Miss? Are you alright?"

"Stay down Iggy-kun..." Ran told me, forcing my head down. "Rubble is still falling around us. I don't want you to get hurt."

We stayed still for a moment, and then Mouri was scrambling to his feet. The man was swearing like a sailor, and I could imagine that he was looking around for something. After a moment I heard him toss something to Ran, "Call the fire department and an ambulance." The man ground out.

"She's dead." Shinichi said, and I wondered how the guy was able to convince these people that he was merely a child. There was nothing child-like in his tone at all. It was curt and clipped. The tones of a professional, not of a little boy who just watched a woman die before his very eyes. Me? I felt a little sick to my stomach. She'd just been alive a few seconds ago...and I was pretty sure I heard the moment when she died.

"Some of the rubble must have struck her in the head." Mouri deducted. I rolled my eyes. _No really? What else do you think it could be?_ I blinked as I heard him turn toward the manor, "She said her husband was inside...perhaps I should-"

Whatever he had been about to say was broken off as another explosion sent him flying back. This time I was in the way, and I let out a little choked sound as he crushed on top of me. The guy did not smell very pleasant either, in case anybody was very curious. Like a mixture of beer, sweat and shame. Blech.

"Geroff!" I growled, lifting him up and tossing him away. Bird-kids are super strong remember? Only thing is, I forgot about that little tidbit. Technically a kid my size shouldn't have been able to lift a full-grown man off of me. I didn't have much trouble with it but...I nervously hopped back to hide behind Ran. "Somebody died and he squished me. I want to go home!"

I think I deserve an award or something. Ran pulled me into a gentle hug, and I heard Shinich growl something under his breath. How much do you want to bet that the guy was practically writhing in jealousy at the moment? Still, I was feeling a little claustrophobic so I pushed away from Ran after a moment. I couldn't lie either, I didn't like how things had happened so far.

**

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**

Ten minutes later and I was about thirty times more claustrophobic than I think I've ever been in my entire life. First the fire department came. They were working hard to extinguish the flames. Part of me didn't want them to go out. I realized that it would be bad for a home to burn, don't get me wrong. It's just...fire is so alive. It's almost a shame to quench it.

Then, in the midst of all the running back and forth by several fire men, the police showed up. Despite the fact that there was a freakin' dead body, everybody who came up to Mouri so far just HAD to take a look at me for some reason. By the time a heavy-set man (I could tell by his footsteps) called Inspector Megure showed up I think everybody had my fake background story down.

"So this is the new kid, Iggy-kun." Inspector Megure rumbled. There was something about him that...well, I don't say this often but I liked the guy instantly. There was...he had an air of protectiveness. Not like a father, I wouldn't really know that. The only 'father' I ever had was Jeb and...well let's just not get into that for now. He just made me feel comfortable. I got the feeling that he was the kind of guy who was strong enough to face a hard job like being a police officer. Or an Inspector I suppose. "Just don't let him get in the way."

"I can find my own way around sir." I said, giving him a grin. "Even though I'm blind I can get around pretty easy."

"Yes...that's a bit odd isn't it?" Shinichi whispered, probably to himself really. I blinked. Did he...suspect me of something? I remembered how I had shoved Mouri off of me so easily and let out a nervous laugh so he would know I had overheard his speculations.

"So you find yourself with another unfortunate victim of your jinx." Megure said, sounding a little suspicious and irritable. Mouri stuttered nervously under that and I blinked in confusion. What was THAT particular statement supposed to mean? Wasn't he some sort of detective anyways?

"We have a tendency to stumble on dead bodies..." Shinichi said, and I thought I actually heard a bit of guilt in his voice. What was that all about? So they had a bad habit of stumbling across the dead...did Shinichi somehow think it was his fault? I wondered what I could say, he didn't exactly seem like that type of guy that was often superstitious so this must have been something that really bothered him. Louder he said, "Do you know how the fire started yet Inspector?"

"No, not yet Conan-kun." The man said, as though he were used to a little kid actually asking a question about a crime-scene. Again, I would have to point out to Shinichi that he was doing an awful job at acting. Something told me that when he got into a case he focused most of his attention on that though. Wait...

"Sh-...erm, Conan-niichan." I hissed, noticing that when I started to say his actual name he was tensing up. "Earlier you said that Mouri-sama was famous...the sleeping sleuth. He's kind of baka...don't tell me that he actually figures out cases. You've got your hand in this somewhere...don't you?"

He seemed startled that I had guessed. Somebody who was blind could have seen that he was trying to find clues to this case. Hey, look at that, must be why I could have guessed right? "Yes...I'll explain that later Iggy-kun. For now please let's not talk about this while we're in public."

"I still think you should tell her." I replied, and left it at that. There was little reason for me to dwell on the matter further. I walked away from the crimescene to stand near the front of one of the cars. I was, to be completely honest with you, pretty bored. Is that awful of me? To say I was bored in a place somebody died? I didn't mean it like that, but it wasn't like it was murder.

_But that crunch of gravel..._ I thought, blinking my eyes against the smoke. For some reason that was bothering me. It stuck out, but why? I wandered away and was suddenly caught by my shoulder. I wrenched away automatically, ready to fight. The startled laugh that sounded caught me a little off guard.

"Oh, hold on there boy-kun." A man said, "I'm officer Takagi, and I mean you know harm. You were just about to walk on top of our victim though. You are the new little boy living with Mouri-tantei right?"

I felt a flush of embarassment, along with a little wave of nasuea. I'd almost walked on a corpse? That was...a tad bit disturbing. I jerked with surprise as I heard the sound of somebody approaching. That crunch on gravel...it sounded a lot like the one I'd heard during the explosion. I looked over in that direction sharply. Okay, not really LOOKED but I turned my head that way.

"Wh-what has happened here?" I heard the panicked voice of a young woman. I'm going to peg my guess to be...mmm...between twenty and twenty-four years old. "My home, my...my mother! What is going on! Mother! Get up!"

"Are you the young Karakura?" Takagi asked, stepping away from me to hold the woman back. "There has been an incident, your house was...it may have been bombed."

"BOMBED? Where is my father? What's happened?" She yelled, and then she passed out. Her body hit the gravel with a loud crunch and Takagi let out a yelp as he scrambled to make sure she was alright. I hardly noticed as Shinichi walked over to stand next to me.

"Interesting...the wound that killed her is on the back of her head and yet she is facing the mansion. It does not look as though she was killed from falling debris from that area...rather..." Shinichi stopped talking to think I'm assuming. Sometimes not being able to see can be very annoying. Still, as he spoke I felt a cold chill seep through my bones.

"We were all here during the explosion." I said, trying to calm myself down. Surely somebody hadn't been murdered with us so close that we could witness it? Shinichi started as this seemed to pull him out of his reverie. There was a pause and then he laughed making me blink in surprise.

"Sorry, I was shaking my head and then I realized that was a bit pointless Iggy-kun." Shinichi said, I coughed as some rubble landed on my nose. Did he run a hand through his hair or something? Gross, hair rubble on my nose. "The explosion would provide almost the perfect excuse to commit murder. Think about it Iggy-kun. Not only would the death be easily written off as an accident but any nearby witnesses would be distracted by shielding their eyes from the blast, otherwise they would go blind..."

He stopped as though considering something. "Like me. I shielded my eyes because of debris but that doesn't matter because I normally can't see. But I can HEAR. I can tell the difference between footsteps and falling debris...I think you're right Shinichi-kun. I...I think that Karakura-san was murdered. And I might be the only real witness."

"The fire is out." Shinichi suddenly said, and shoved me toward the building. At least, I'm pretty sure that's the way I was getting shoved, since it smelled like smoke. "Come on Iggy-kun we have to go investigate. Hurry, before somebody spots us and figures out where we're going."

"Oi, oi, you sound like a little kid trying to steal from a cookie jar." I said, feeling a little amused. My stomach was still churning sickeningly. A murder. A murder and I was the witness to it. How lucky for poor Karakura-san, that the witness to her death would be a blind mutant. Just freakin' great.

I felt the gravel change to grass underfoot. It was easy to tell when we got to the house, but Shinichi stopped before going inside. There was a sick smell in the air that I couldn't pinpoint. It was sour, but sweet at the same time. It made my stomach churn and I heard the rustling of cloth. The smell got even stronger and I covered my mouth, "What IS that, it smells worse than a dead Eraser."

"Eh?" Shinichi said, sounding confused. He swept by my comment anyways and said, "That's the smell of burned flesh. There is one more body...Karakura's husband did not survive the explosion."

"You expected him too?" I said, feeling ill. I uncovered my nose and sniffed at the air. I blinked twice, "Shinichi-kun...do you smell that? That's gunpowder again I'm-"

Suddenly our heads were cracked together. I jerked away clutching at my head desperately and heard Shinichi let out the most childish sound I'd ever heard him make. The funny thing is, I think he was only half pretending with it. My eyes watered considerably and I rubbed the spot where we'd bonked heads together. "Ojii-san!"

"You two shouldn't be nosing around here." Mouri growled, sounding incredibly irrated. I could feel him glaring at me, and I would have totally stuck my tongue out at him if it weren't for the fact that I was a teensy bit scared he'd use Shinichi's hard head as a weapon on me again. "You'll mess things up."

"But Iggy-kun smelled some gunpowder, didn't you Iggy-kun?" Shinichi said, coming over and tapping me lightly on the nose. Something that I found incredibly irritating. I rubbed at my nose and seriously considered ditching him in his stupid effort to get that detective to notice this clue. Was it a clue? Well...duh! The house freakin' exploded after all.

"Gunpowder?" Mouri said, and leaned down and sniffed the body. Now I don't have much of a squeamish factor but THAT is something I don't think I will ever be doing any time soon. The mere thought made me feel a little sick, especially since the person happened to be fried chicken right now. (Though I'd probably make a better fried chicken than him considering that I'm half bird hahaha...bad joke, sorry.) "Interesting..."

"Do the firemen know what caused the explosion?" Shinichi asked, all cheerful innocence. Mouri seemed a little irritated by this, and I stifled a snort of laughter as Shinichi let out another yelp of pain. Something told me he got clobbered again. "Owwww!"

"That's no concern of yours." Mouri said, and he walked away laughing loudly. Clearly pleased with himself. The great detective Kogoro Mouri just shook a kid off his tail, somebody give the guy a freaking medal so he'll shut his stupid mouth already. I snorted and walked over to where Shinichi must have been crouching on the ground.

"Do you really need to ask? I'm sure the firemen have figured out that this blast wasn't accidental..." I said, helping him to his feet. "I think I know who did it Shinichi-kun...I'm not positive but the way she walks...I feel like I may have heard her during the explosion."

"Perhaps she smells of gunpowder..." Shinichi mused, and I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm not going to go over to her and sniff her if that's what you want Shinichi-kun. Do I look like a dog to you?" I asked, he made a sound that told me he was trying to hold back laughter. Still he stopped short and sounded incredibly nervous all of a sudden, "R-Ran-neechan! When did you show up here?"

I blinked as I felt a gentle hand on my head, "It's alright Conan-kun, I didn't hear anything about your secret." She said, sounding rather mysterious. I blinked. If she hadn't heard anything about the secret then why would she say something like that? Shinichi's panic spiked and I had to catch him to make sure he didn't fall over or something like that.

"S-s-secret? We don't have a secret Ran-neechan! Right Iggy-kun?" Shinichi stammered out, sounding incredibly freaked out. Sheesh, would it really be so bad if she figured out the whole situation she was in? I'd have to figure out his reasoning behind keeping this from her with so much desperation attached.

"We do too." I said, deciding that I would be rather evil. Shinichi must have just about keeled over with fright and I took on another even more sinister smile, "It's about the person that Conan-niichan has gotten love sick over, riiiight aniki?"

"I am going to kill you." Shinichi whispered in a voice that suggested he just might carry out his threat. I only replied by sticking my tongue out in his direction. I think that's when I decided it. That I liked this Shinichi guy, even if he was a liar that hid from his friends. He was cool, and I had a feeling that I could trust him. I didn't get that feeling with a lot of people...it was weird but I felt the same way with Ran. As if I could count on her in times of trouble.

"Conan-kun is love sick?" Ran said, sounding incredibly amused. She giggled and I was just starting to imagine what kind of mortified looks a person could possibly have when I heard Takagi's voice. As Shinichi struggled to regain his dignity I found myself zeroing in on a conversation taking place several feet away.

"We have antique weapons in the basement. Father was advised against it but...he always kept barrels of gunpowder down there." That was the daughter of the two victims. Shinichi must have noticed that I was listening because he and Ran fell silent with a sharp noise from him. "Something must have set it off somehow."

_The striking of a match..._I thought, narrowing my eyes. "Shin-...eh, erm...Conan-niichan." I said, after getting an unpleasant elbow in the ribs. Little jerk. I rubbed my side and said, "Just before the explosion...I'm certain that I heard somebody strike a match. Believe me, I know that sound. I'm...ah, I'm a bit of a pyromaniac if you will."

"Pyromaniac?" Ran said, testing the word. I realized a little too late that it was something a small child would normally not know. She didn't seem to know it herself. I stammered for something when Shinichi beat me to the punch, but only served to make the situation a little more suspicious.

"It's somebody who obsesses over fire." Shinichi mumbled, sounding only partially interested. He wasn't answering the question with all of his head, it was something he did as though on autopilot. As if he were thinking too hard to completely focus on the real world. "Iggy-kun...I know you're not a dog but do you think you'd be able to smell sulfur if I took you over to that Onee-san over there?"

"Possibly..." I said, beginning to understand why Total felt a little offended when people called him a dog sometimes. As soon as that was out of my mouth I was dragged over to the woman and shoved so that I stumbled. I caught myself on her hand and turned to give a poorly aimed death glare at Shinichi.

"You kids shouldn't be playing here." Megure said. I realized that he was going to pick me up so I quickly sniffed at her hand, trying to be as freaking discreet as I could. But really how discreet is it when a kid sniffs your fingers? It's not something that's exactly normal to do.

"Oba-san!" I said, just as Megure was leaning down, "I've got really good smell because I can't see you know! I can hear very well too! You know what's funny Oba-san? Your fingers...smell..." I blinked, not like matches but something else. I closed my eyes, "Like rusty iron..."

Her reaction was enough to make ME believe that she was as guilty as all heck. She THREW me. Yeah, literally picked me up and tossed me through the air. If it wasn't for the fact that revealing that I was a mutant wouldn't be the best idea in this particular situation I would have simply snapped my wings open and caught myself. As it was...well I crashed down on the gravel and proceeded to whine. Erm...fine, I'll admit that I was only half acting. It freaking HURTS to get thrown down on the ground.

"Iron?" Megure said, and I could feel the woman begin to practically squirm because of his tone. It was suspicious. Score one for the little guys who are actually teenagers! WOOT! Speaking of which, I had no idea where my partner in crime flitted off to. What the heck was up with that? He ditched me while I was sniffing fingers!

"We-well..." The woman stammered.

There was a sound, the smallest sound that I don't think most people would have detected. It sounded like a sharp whistling noise, and then I heard Mouri stagger. I yelped and hopped out of the way as he plopped onto the ground by one of the police cars. I heard the gravel shift as my missing partner dashed behind said car. I followed him discreetly and blinked in surprise when Mouri's voice came from behind the car where we were. But...I was sure he hadn't gotten up.

"Perhaps it is best if I explain Inspector." Mouri's voice said, I blinked with the realization that the voice wasn't coming from the detective. No, I was thinking that guy was probably passed out hard core by now. Mouri's voice was coming from SHINICHI...weird. "That is...if you won't confess to your crimes."

"I did nothing!" The woman yelled, and I heard a struggle insue as she was held back from clobbering poor Mouri. "My mother and father have just been killed how DARE you say-"

"Isn't it odd...how nobody has said anything about this being a murder? In fact it we've all been saying it's an accident." Mouri's voice said from Shinichi. I blinked in surprise. To be honest with you that would have probably missed my insight. The woman seemed just as surprised. "Yet you seem to think this is murder...care to elaborate as to why?"

"I-...I..." She floundered, "You cannot prove that I have done anything wrong."

"Can't I?" Mouri's voice rang out, and I could detect the smugness in that tone. I shuddered a little. Note to self; If I ever want to do something criminal stay away from the creepy shrunken detective who can imitate people's voices. I would HATE to be cornered by him. I'm thinking that poor woman was beginning to feel like a mouse cornered by a cat, "First let's clear up the explosion...we must explain that away in the beginning."

"Karakura showed up at my office this afternoon, and our new arrival Iggy-kun noticed that she had a peculiar scent that was on her. Iggy-kun, being blind, has heightened senses of smell and hearing, right Iggy-kun? Can you tell the officer's what it was that you smelled?" Shinichi as Mouri asked. I swallowed and skipped out into the clearing. It would have been nice of him to inform me that I was going to be in the spotlight.

"Yup! I can smell and hear real well!" I said, beaming like an idiot. "She smelled like gunpowder! I noticed it right away because...I used to play with fireworks back at home so I know what it smells like!"

"I am certain that this was correct. On our arrival to the home Karakura-san recieved a text message that informed her that her husband is home. Conan-kun made sure to pick the phone up as evidence after the explosion. On it you will find a text message that can certainly be considered a suicide note..." Shinichi said, still with Mouri's voice. (Do I really need to keep saying that? No? Okay, so when he's not using Mouri's voice I'll make note of it alright?) "The truth is...Karakura-san was helping her husband to committ suicide."

A stunned silence permeated the area and I blinked with surprise. Suicide? How had he figured THAT out? I'd have to ask him later it seemed. Onee-san was suddenly making choked sobbing noises. "Otou-san would never have-..." She trailed off. I knew she knew about this as much as Shinichi did. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling very cold. To want to take your own life...but to get somebody you loved to HELP you take your own life. "Otou-san was very ill...he...he always said that he was a burden on us. We had to care for him so but...but..."

"Karakura-sama asked his wife to help him end his life." Shinichi said in somber tones. I wondered if this sort of thing got to him, dealing with death and destruction. I felt so very cold right now. "They set up an elaborate plan, but he feared that she would be blamed for murder and taken to jail since she was helping him. To give her an alibi he decided to send her to me saying that she needed to find her lost husband. They would assume he had died in an accident...his daughter would never even know he had longed to end his life."

"But she found out." I said softly, because I could guess that much. That poor young Karakura had figured out her parents plan, and that she had been horrified with her mother for ever thinking of helping that man end his own life.

"You found out their plan, didn't you?" Shinichi said, and his tone was almost gentle. Sympathetic. Even hidden behind the guise of the sleeping sleuth..."You planned on making sure it never got carried out, but by the time you got home today the plan was already in motion. Your father lit a match while waiting in the shadows of his front porch and let it fall on a line of gunpowder. He had wanted to see his wife one final time...The house exploded, and you were angry. You found the nearby watering can and struck your mother with it in a fit of rage killing her while we all had our faces hidden from the blast."

"No evidence...to..." She said in reply, almost with a kind of dread.

"Why are your hands stained orange, Karakura-san?" Shinichi said. There was a horrified intake of breath from the culprit, and I found myself shutting my eyes. Was it even neccessary for me to have sniffed her hands then? I'm thinking...no. Now I just feel a bit like a freak. "The watering can was covered in rust...you threw it into the field after the murder didn't you? I'm sure that forensics will be able to match the rust on your hands to the rust on the can, not to mention your fingerprints and your mother's blood."

"It wasn't fair." She wailed, crumbling down. I could imagine that she was in the fetal position, and she started to sob. "We loved Otou-san! With all of our hearts! How could she...throw away all that love...all that work we put into keeping him alive? How could she do that to me! I needed him...I...want..."

So it was that I learned one of the hardest lessons of my entire life. Murder, it seemed, wasn't always done by the heartless.

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_**End of chapter three! **_

_**It was kind of fun to write, and it was my first mystery so I hoped you all liked it.**_

_**I'm thinking it was a bit obvious though...-sighs-**_

_**Hopefully I'll get better at it. :3**_

_**Reviews much appreciated as always.**_


	4. A Day In The Life of a Shrunken Kid

_Disclaimer;;_

_Mine it is not :3_

_**It's been awhile...**_

_**Not that long but still. XP**_

_**So I watched episodes 188-193 today of DC. **_

_**They were awesome, and I was really lonely because I wanted to talk about it...**_

_**But none of my friends know what DC IS let alone want to listen to me babble endlessly about it...**_

_**Which I did anyways because I was so excited. -.-u**_

_**Detective Thief- Thank you. You found it intense? Murder often is XP**_

_**ziraulo- Thank you very much! :3 I will continue. I have a lot planned for this particular fanfiction **_

_**Ashimattack- You didn't! Awright! -strikes pose- Now I feel smart :3 Thank you for thinking that murder was clever. -cackles gleefully- You think I'm talented? That's so nice! And as for mentioning you, that's not a problem. I like replying to reviews... Lawl, hurray for the pyro-maniacs! Fire's just so beautiful to look at X3**_

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_Chapter Four- A Day In The Life of a Shrunken Kid_

I was surprised by how routine everything was after Shinichi figured out who the murderer was. The woman was arrested, and Mouri hustled us off into the car grumbling the entire way about how he wouldn't get his fee since the person who was supposed to pay him ended up getting killed. It was incredibly insensitive, but Shinichi and Ran accepted it as though it were completely normal.

Gross.

I myself was just getting over the fact that I had met yet another person who died. The second one, and she didn't seem like all that bad of a person either. I mean, sure she was going to help her husband kill herself but...wasn't it out of an act of love and kindness? I know that's very TWISTED love and kindness but...

By the time the taxi drove up home I was kind of freaking out. Shouldn't we be quiet, awkward, ANYTHING? Somebody just DIED for cripe's sake! Yet everybody was casually talking about what we were going to have for dinner. I wasn't thinking about food, in fact all I could think about at the moment was the way flesh smelled after it had been burned.

Not something that exactly spikes your appetite.

"Iggy-kun, aren't you hungry?" Ran asked. In reality I was practically starving to death. I should have been eating everything in front of me, including the table. I hadn't eaten at ALL since I'd been in Tokyo. Meaning that since before I was shrunk. Bird-kids happen to eat quite a bit but...

"Maybe Iggy-kun is upset by the murders..." Shinichi offered, his voice sounding all cute and sweet. It kind of made me want to throw something at him, which I would have done if I wasn't afraid I'd hit Ran on accident. "This would be his first ever murder case, he's not used to dead people."

_Not my first._ I thought, and shuddered at the memory of the girl who died in my arms. I shoved it aside though, and focused on how ravenous I felt. Which actually helped quite a lot. The more I thought about how I SHOULD have been hungry, the hungrier I felt. I finished my helping in record time, which for me is pretty fast. "I'm okay Ran-neechan! Can I have more please?"

She gave me seconds while chuckling in amusement. Still those chuckles soon became quiet as I asked for my third and fourth helping before the minute was up. To be honest with you I wasn't even close to full yet, so I held up my plate and hoped that the puppy dog eyes I was giving Ran were actually pointed at her face or something.

"When was the last time you ATE Iggy-kun? Didn't Agasa-san FEED you?" Ran asked incredulously as I devoured the food again. Nope, not full yet. Sixths please! I grinned widely as she put another helping on my plate but frowned when she said softly, "That's all there was Iggy-kun..."

"Awwww, I'm hardly full yet!" I complained, eating my final helping. At least I wasn't starving anymore though. I could feel their eyes on me so I laughed and rubbed the back of my head in embarassment, "I burn lotsa energy so I have to eat a lot of food!"

_This cute little kid act...if any of the Flock every see's me doing this I'll never live it down._ I thought, my eyebrow twitching slightly. I felt the extra sharp gaze of Shinichi on me. It's creepy how I knew that it was him staring at me, just from the feeling of that look. I didn't have to see it to know that he was pondering something deep about me.

"Who ARE you?" I heard him mutter under his breath.

"I bet you wouldn't guess Shi-...neeeh, Conan-niichan." I said, correcting myself quickly enough that Ran didn't seem to notice. I hated that I had to do that. Note to self, ask creepy shrunken detective about why we have to lie to the nice girl. I should like to know a good reason for putting her life at risk by living here without giving her any warning about it.

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"Wake up Iggy-kun." I heard, and felt a gentle hand shaking my shoulder. As soon as dinner was over I crawled onto the couch while they all watched a movie or something. Not only was I really tired, but I couldn't really watch the movie myself. I listened to it for a little while, but eventually I was out.

"Nnn..." I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. I was still on the couch, but there was a blanket around me. I heard Ran chuckle and Shinichi muttered something under his breath about me being lazy. Jerk. "What time is it, Ran-neechan?"

"It's seven in the morning Iggy-kun. You'll have to borrow some of Conan-kun's clothing for school since Agasa-san didn't drop any off with you when he brought you here." Ran said, grabbing me by the hand and leading me into what must have been the bathroom. I was quickly handed a toothbrush and turned to the sink. Ran must have turned the faucet on because water was already running.

Me? I was struggling to keep up with this and still trying to process what it was that she said exactly. I felt my voice drop an octave, turning my head toward Shinichi's snickering as I said, "School?"

"Of course, Agasa-hagase already signed you up. You'll be going to the same school as Conan-kun, he even pulled a few strings so that you would be able to be in Conan-kun's grade if you can keep up on your studies Iggy-kun. I'll help you with your writing and such when you bring your school home." Ran sounded happy and excited.

Me? I tried school once. It tended to be boring. And...well when I get bored I want to do something to occupy my time. It's just that...some people don't find the things I do to occupy my time as amusing as I find them myself. I kind of don't like school, but that's mostly because the people who created me happened to be part of an organization CALLED the School.

So, not exactly pleasant memories associated with that particular word.

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I found myself walking down a busy sidewalk, with Ran's hand in mine. I have to say that it wasn't as annoying as usual, since Ran happens to be Shinichi's object of affection. I was having quite a bit of fun with that fact, since he was seething with jealousy practically the entire way. Heheheh, take that you little jerk for not telling me I had to go to school.

"Conan-kun!" A young girl yelled, I blinked with surprise. I RECOGNIZED that voice. I heard three children approach us, and they seemed to hesitate at the last second, "Hey..."

"That's the guy who was under the slide the other day!" A rough sounding boy exclaimed. I flinched away as he knocked me on the head with a meaty fist, "You don't look as crazy as you did that day. Why are you walkin' around with Conan? Oi, oi, you're not going to be hanging out with us are you?"

"Don't be rude, Genta-kun." Another boy chastised, though he was burning with curiousity I could feel it. "I-"

"I'm Genta, that's Ayumi and this is Mitsuhiko!" The rough boy said, running the polite boy's voice over with his loud tone. Genta, as he called himself, seemed a bit on the moody side. He didn't trust me. Which was kind of funny since the kid had practically brained me by knocking on my head like it was a door or something.

"My name is Edogawa Iggy." I said, giving them all a brave grin. "I was lost and confused when I met you all the other day! Ne, Conan-niichan?"

"Y-yeah..." Shinichi said quickly, sounding uncomfortable. Oops, I'd forgotten that to Ran the first time I met "Conan" was back at the office. Too late now. "I didn't recognize you either Iggy-kun, you looked so strange."

"Edogawa..." Ayumi mused, "Conan-kun could this be someone who is of your family?"

"Yes, Iggy-kun is my little brother. My parents brought him into our family." Shinichi explained, ruffling my hair. I turned a scowl in his direction, and groped for Ran's hand again. I didn't have to see to know the look on his face was probably priceless. Score one for Iggy.

The elementary school was apparently in a different direction because we split up. I could feel the curiousity of the three children like electricity in the air. It was kind of amusing. After a moment Genta bravely said, "Hey, can you see?"

"No." I said flatly. I don't think Shinichi acts like a kid too much around them, so I'm not going to bother beating around the bush either. I turned my face in his direction, "I can't see Genta-kun. I'm blind."

"That's sad..." Ayumi whispered, and the little girl surprised the stuffing out of me by grabbing my hand. I normally would have said something scathing but...hey she was a little kid and it was pretty sweet of her to do that. Even tough guys like me have soft spots for things. Cute little girls are one of them.

"Weird..." Genta murmured to the boy Mitsuhiko. Very loudly, might I add. I turned my head in his direction and he made a squeaking noise. Then he said in a hushed voice, "He's looking at us!"

"Not looking at us..." Mitsuhiko corrected, "He's turning his head in our direction as if he knows where we are. Scary."

"I'm blind, not deaf." I said flatly, making them both squeak in embarassment. "Actually my hearing is more acute than most people. Since I can't see my other senses are sharper. It's my body's way of trying to compensate so that I can function well in the world." Also, I happen to be a mutant but I'm NOT going to try and explain THAT to little kids.

"Compensate?" Genta said blankly. I snorted with amusement and let go of Ayumi's hand. I shoved my hands in my pockets, and attempted to walk forward. I say attempted because I ran into somebody that I had somehow failed to notice was standing nearby until I was sitting with my butt on the concrete.

"Ow..." I murmured, feeling my pride stung just a little. Normally I can function just fine in big crowds. What I can't see I can hear and...almost sense. I can smell too, which is surprisingly a good way of figuring out where I am and who is around me. "Who did I just run into?"

"Perhaps you should be paying more attention." Came the cold reply. I felt my guard rise instantly. Haibara, the scientist who created the drug that shrank us. I don't like scientists, and this one was just sinking lower and lower on my trust list. I knew she was holding her hand in front of me to help me up. "Do you like sitting on the ground...Younger Edogawa-kun?"

"Iggy." I snapped, shoving her hand away and scrambling to my feet. "No, I don't like sitting on the ground. At least I have an excuse for running into people, I can't see. What's yours Haibara-san?"

I'm not much for being nasty, but there was something about that girl that just ruffled my feathers. No pun intended. I found myself feeling incredibly pent up around her, as if I was ready to explode or something. Which bothered me greatly. Haibara did not reply to my scathing remark, but I did get the sense that she was amused by me. Which just made me even crankier.

"Iggy-kun do you not like Haibara-san?" Genta asked, sounding a little surprised. I guess I hadn't exactly made my hostility unknown. I turned a reassuring smile his direction.

"Nah, she just caught me off guard is all." I replied, knowing that if I said that I didn't like her I'd probably be shoved out of this little circle of friends as fast as possible. Not something I needed at the moment.

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It. Was. The. Most. Boring. Thing. Ever. I thought NORMAL school was bad. Do YOU think normal school is bad? Well try taking a class that somebody who has only gone to school ONCE in their entire life can excell at. And by excell I mean, adding two-plus-two isn't something that's very hard.

The only thing someone like me would even find remotely interesting was what I hadn't learn, which was, of course, how to write in Kanji. Guess what? That wasn't very fun since that consisted of the teacher drawing the symbol on the board and then telling the class to copy it down. That teacher by the way, is an idiot because she still doesn't know I'm blind. Ayumi, who I got to sit by, cheated for me and helped me copy them down. Nice kid.

I lost interest in record time. I couldn't find anything fun to do because Gazzy wasn't around. All in all? It sucked. So I'll be a nice guy and spare all you lovely readers out there the nitty-gritty details of my day in second grade. Because in all honesty I think that my brain turned off and all that was left was a breathing doll of me.

"It's harder than it looks." Shinichi said once we'd split up from the kids. "Or seems that is. You can't be TOO bright or you risk the syndicate finding something suspicious about it. Basically we have to work to be normal. That is, children who aren't stupid but aren't extremely smart."

"You really think that the baddies are going to be interested in the scores of elementary school students?" I asked, feeling slightly amused. "So what? Are they randomly going to say; 'Hey bro, let's check out the scores at this random elementary school. Gee, that kid is smart. Isn't that strange? He must be somebody we shrunk when we tried to kill them. Better shoot em' up.' I know that it's smart to be on guard but I'm thinking THAT is probably overkill."

"They have people everywhere." Haibara said, yes unfortunately the shrunken woman happened to be with us. "You can never be too careful."

"Speaking of being 'too careful'." I said, putting quotes around the words with my fingers. I turned so that my face was towards Shinichi and slowly asked, "Why is it that we're keeping this from your friend again? Ran seems like the kind of person you could trust. Heck, I'd trust her faster than I would trust Haibara-san."

"Thank you." She said coolly. I only waved her off.

"So why exactly are we putting cute little kid act on her? I get the thing with Kogoro, the guy is an idiot and I doubt that he could keep his mouth shut. Not that he'd do anything on PURPOSE, I just think he's the kind of person that would slip up and give us away. Plus it would make the whole, Shinichi-shoots-him-with-a-tranquilizer-for-every-case thing kind of awkward..." I trailed off. I was only guessing that this was Shinichi's method he used for every case, and since he didn't deny it I'm thinking it was true. Still, poor Kogoro. The guy was kind of annoying but being used as a living puppet...blech.

"If I thought it would be better for Ran to know then I'd tell her in a heartbeat." Shinichi said, his tone was unusually dark and almost pained. Something told me that it wasn't him who decided it would be best not to say anything to Ran. It's hard to give people accusing looks when you're blind, but I must have pulled it off on Haibara.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Haibara said coldly, "Imagine if the syndicate discovered where Kudou-kun was? Where I was even? They would kill any person that knew the truth about Edogawa Conan. They wouldn't care if that person was young or old. They wouldn't show mercy. Those that know about the syndicate who aren't within their folds must be irradicated. They will be destroyed."

"You are really creepy." I said, though I don't think it really bothered her that I said that. "That's a really stupid reason by the way. I was thinking you'd come up with something that would at least make sense, not something that I could have come up with on the top of my head."

"What do you mean?" Shinichi said, sounding incredibly interested. Haibara said nothing, but she had stopped walking. Shinichi followed her lead and I took a few more steps before stopping and turning around to face them. Shinichi repeated himself, "What do you mean?"

"I'm surprised you haven't thought of it." I said, which was completely true. I wasn't just surprised, I was shocked. I guess that even though they were dealing with a very BAD group of baddies they still didn't have what I had. Experience. Sure, Haibara used to be part of the baddies but she wasn't used to HIDING from them. Me? I'm practically a pro.

"Just explain your theory." Haibara said, her voice as flat as ever. Yet I heard a spark of veiled interest in her tone. I considered not saying anything, but Shinichi would want to know. Besides, I didn't like lying to Ran. I liked her, trusted her even. Trust, as I've said before, just isn't something I give away very easily.

"Do you really think that they're the kind of people that would take the time to distinguish who did or didn't know about them?" I said flatly, "Do you really think that they would put forth that much effort just to make sure some innocent people who didn't really know anything wouldn't be killed? I don't. They slaughtered a woman I was holding in my arms. You said it yourself, they have no mercy. I'm not saying that they CAN'T find out who you have or haven't told, I'm just saying that they wouldn't care. Anybody close to you would be on the hit list. Anybody who has had more than one long encounter with Edogawa Conan would be killed. It doesn't matter if you tell Ran or not because she's already screwed if they find out who you are. You live with her. They'd kill her for sure."

They seemed genuinely surprised, even Haibara was for a heartbeat before she covered it up with her glacial attitude. I had the strangest feeling when she did that, like I wanted to figure out who she was beneath all that ice. It bothered me, shook me even. Why did I care how that girl felt? She was annoying, and probably untrustworthy.

"This is a side of things I hadn't considered." She murmured, "I knew it, I think, but for some reason I never adressed this side of thinking."

The hope that spiked from Shinichi didn't just catch me offguard, but him as well. I don't think he realized how much he really wanted to tell that girl the truth. I felt Haibara tense up at that hope. She was leery of this decision, and to be honest with you I suddenly understood why. She still didn't know if this would be a benefit or not.

"Do not assume that you can go and tell her now Kudou-kun, or at all for that matter." Haibara said, her tone very clipped and efficient. Yet...I could detect just the barest hint of sympathy in her tone. I found myself wondering again if she was really such a bad person. If underneath that cold and critical exterior there was actually a personality...I shook my head to clear it. "I will discuss the matter with Agasa and we will bring it up once more later. We must make sure that this decision is the right decision to make."

"Scientists..." I muttered under my breath.

"This is where I see you off." Haibara said. Then she surprised me by saying in a genuinely warm tone of voice, "Thank you for your insight Iggy-kun. Sometimes it is hard to see the other sides of things, and you have brought up a matter that has troubled Kudou-kun for sometime."

With that she was gone, leaving both me and Shinichi standing there in surprise. Not sure about him, but my mouth was hanging open wide enough for a jet plane to land on. I hadn't known Haibara for very long, but I already knew from the encounters I had with her that she was not somebody who showed emotion. Especially not...kind emotion.

Weird.

* * *

_**What's this?**_

_**Haibara's letting down her walls, even just a teeny bit!**_

_**YAY! **_

_**XP I really love her character...**_

_**On the outside she's so cold and efficient...**_

_**But she's so deep and complex. It goes so far beyond that. Her misery for her sister, the love she feels for the Detective boys, Agasa and yes, even Shinichi. (Though I'm thinking it's more of a comraderie kinda thing, though I'm not denying that she might have a bit of a crush on our hero...)**_

_**So I'm going to enjoy making her fall for Iggy...**_

_**and he's already falling for her, he just doesn't know it yet. -cackles-**_

_**I love relationships that start out with; "I hate that person..." and eventually turns into, "Holy crap I'm in love with them!" 0.o**_

_**Reviews are nice. :3**_


	5. Bird Kid News Announcements

_Disclaimer;_

_Maximum Ride in't mine...neither is Detective Conan_

_They make a nice combo though, no? XP_

_**I'm glad that I'm getting some more reviewers :3**_

_**It's always nice to know somebody likes the same things you do you know? **_

_**XP Yes, I like my own fanfiction...**_

_**If I didn't I wouldn't be writing it. X3**_

_**I'm not sure if there is actually a member of the syndicate named Scotch, I just used it because it's the only alcohol I could think of at the time. -.-u**_

_**Detective Thief- Not like Iggy! Well it's a good thing I'm changin' your mind. :3 I adore sarcastic characters, hence why I threw Iggy and Haibara together as a pairing for this. -cackles-**_

_**Elena Forest- Heeey...you write the short-and-sweet stories. I know you...XP You read this first? That's my guess, sorry for any spoilers. Don't not read the book cause of em', it's the best one in so many ways and yet the worst in others. -sobs- Oh I KNOW! (about Max) I'm soooo excited about that chapter. Makes me all bouncy and giggly teehee...Glad you liked the food thing. :3**_

_**Ashimattack- You make me feel so good inside. Warm and tingly. I love nice reviews X3 The Flock. -laughs maniacally- I'm excited about that. That's two people who share that with me. -cackles- Hope you think so! I have ebil things planned for Iggy when that happens. Lawl...**_

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_Chapter Five- Bird-kid News Announcements_

I'm not exactly sure how you can feel homesick when you don't really HAVE a home. In fact, I don't think it should be called homesick at all. Have you ever felt homesick? I don't know about you, but for me it's not so much not being in a place that I call HOME (because I don't have one...) but being away from the people that make a place feel like home.

So I'm not homesick. Just flocksick.

It was my fifth day in Mouri Detective Agency, and I'd been pretty much welcomed into the place very easily. I'm surprised how quickly I got my own habits from the place. I'm proud to say that I hardly ever slip up calling Shinichi by his real name in front of others now, though around the kids I do it quite often. I think it's because Shinichi acts like HIMSELF, not Conan Edogawa around those kids. I mean, not completely like himself, but you know...more like himself than the creepy little kid that hides about in the agency stalking his girlfriend.

Okay, so that's not very nice. I've discovered that I like Shinichi. Yes, yes, I'm trusting these people far too easily. Ran, Shinichi, heck even Mouri, plus Mitsuhiko, Ayumi and Genta. I'm still uncomfortable around Agasa and Haibara. Haibara definitely sets me more on edge than Agasa, I just avoid him. I wish I could avoid her...but...

She's freakin' EVERYWHERE! And I bump into her ALL the time. Even when I'm paying close attention to my surroundings. It bothers me because some part of me is automatically relaxed with her prescence enough not to notice her. I don't want to be relaxed about ANYTHING around that chick! She's probably messed up in the head or something...

It's weird to say, but I'm going to miss most of the people I've met when I meet the Flock again. Except...well if I met the Flock what would I do? I can't fly around them like this, a little kid. How the heck would I know when Haibara and Agasa make an antidote? I'm so confused...

There really isn't any way for me to contact Max and the other's either. I wish there was, but most of the ways that I WOULD have at contacting them involve a computer. Which...is kind of hard for me to use since I'm blind. I've heard there are special computers out there for blind people. Is that true? Heh...I'll have to find a way of looking it up...

I blinked, and sat down at the breakfast table. Ran, who I've decided is freaking awesome, has gotten used to the fact that I eat like I've got a blackhole implanted in my stomach. I get an extra big helping for my firsts, and she doesn't say anything if I ask for seconds. Though Mouri has gotten into the habit of making comments like, "Damn kid's gonna eat us out of house and home."

Shinichi was already at the table, munching on his toast in a slow and slightly grumpy way. I smirked. Somebody isn't a morning person. Mouri had placed the tv near the small table, at least that's what I'm figuring since I could hear it very clearly. I know it might seem insensitive that he watches tv with a blind kid sitting by him but...I appreciate it more when people just do their own thing you know?

"Anything interesting on television Conan-niichan?" I asked, trying to wake Shinichi up before we would be walking to school. My 'brother' gave a quick yawn in reply that I totally didn't understand as anything coherent at ALL. I blinked a few times, and when I repeated the question Mouri just growled in irritation and turned the volume on the television up. "Are you even watching it, Mouri-ojisan?"

"Not watching it brat, listening." Came the sharp reply. I glared at my plate of...scrambled eggs in slight boredom. Just a regular day in the Mouri household. Cripe it was getting creepy how at home this place was starting to feel. Blech.

Chances are I would have spent that entire morning focusing on devouring my breakfast as quickly as possible, and devising ways that I could somehow convince Ran to let me cook. Cooking is something that I pride myself in. I do it, not only to feed my family, but to clear my head. I've discovered that the two things I miss most are cooking, and (most of all) flying.

"Sightings of the mysterious bird child were all in one area." The woman on the television said, and I choked on my eggs. Literally choked on them, Ran had to come up behind me and give me the heimlech. Thank you Mr. Heimlech for coming up with that life-saving miracle.

"Iggy-kun slow down..." Ran chastised, mistaking my alarm for my usual speed eating. She was trying to make sure I was okay but I was listening too closely to the television to pay any attention to her. She heaved an irritated sigh. "Iggy-kun!"

"Shh!" I said, in a way that probably wouldn't exactly be considered polite or very nice at all. I'm sorry, forgive me but I'm a bit tense at the moment. I was trying to figure out if the sightings were ME earlier, or possibly...just maybe, the person I had come to freakin' Japan looking for in the first place. Fang.

"It was a little boy." Well there was my answer. I blinked in surprise, and hid my reaction by turning my face so that I would have been staring at my plate had I been able to see. It was the woman who ran into me after I was shrunk, the lady who had tried to help me. "I know because I held him in my arms a moment before he flew off. It wasn't just an illusion, or trick of my eyes. I HELD that child in my arms. He was badly hurt and he struggled away after I picked him up to go get him some help."

"That's when it happened!" A man on the screen interrupted. I rolled my eyes, he sounded like the kind of guy that waves at the camera really fast saying hello to their mother over and over. I hoped to all heck the woman was glaring at him, but he was the guy who had been with her that day. The one that made me realize I shrunk. "He ran down the street and FLEW. He had wings on his back!"

"I hope he's alright..." The woman breathed softly. I blinked with surprise, why was she concerned with my wellfare? She only just met me for that single moment! The voices were switched to the official sounding announcer though.

"Could this possibly be one of the Flock, the mysterious bird-children that have suddenly appeared in various parts of the globe? Is it possible that the Flock truly exists, and there are mutant people among us? Is it even possible that this is a bird-kid that the Flock never previously knew about? These questions remained unanswered for now..."

Shinichi snorted, making me turn my head in his direction. Over the years you figure out that some people's communication requires looks, so I throw in my little fill-ins to prompt things from people. This happened to work very well. "I've never heard of something so ridiculous. Children with wings. It's obviously just some publicity stunt."

I snickered to myself at that, but decided to keep the bird-kid thing to myself. Not because I didn't trust Shinichi, in fact I think the reason I decided not to say anything was for the fact that I DID trust him. I was uncomfortable with that. Too much, too fast for somebody who grew up like me. No, this would be my secret. Besides, it would be fun to see if Shinichi could somehow figure it out for himself.

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The man frowned slightly, brown hair falling in his dark blue eyes. A foreigner in Japan, but he had still found his way up in the ranks of one of the biggest crime organizations in the world. He was a scientist. Oh how he loved science. The twenty year old man grinned at the shadows of the quiet lab he stood in. All alone, but he found people to be bothersome anyways.

His name was Anderson Kyle, if he were to introduce himself in the Japanese style of the family name coming first. Though the people in the syndicate called him Scotch, his codename. The man grinned as his eyes scanned the headlines of one of the thousands of newspaper articles he had pinned up in the lab.

To say that he was interested in genetic mutation would be a complete understatement. So, of course, he avidly followed the stories of the Flock. Articles of all languages were posted everywhere, as well as several photographs. Scotch ran a finger along the nozzle of the pistol he carried. Finding the two eyewitnesses of the bird-kid sighting had been easy enough. Laughably easy actually.

Scotch laughed as he remembered the one thing that the two had forgotten to say on the news, or even to the police. It had been said almost as an after thought by the young man. That the young boy had been blind. Scotch could hardly believe his luck, that the one member of the the Flock that he would find would be the blind one. Right after he finished that drug too...

It was strange though. The blind child was described as one of the older three in all the articles that he had read. Scotch frowned for a moment, his brow furrowing in thought. He shrugged it off though. He would find out what they had meant soon enough. It wouldn't take too much digging. And of course, those two would never tell the police or the news anything ever again.

The man grinned, but a feeling of nervousness gripped his stomach. He was stepping on glass doing this in secret. If one of the higher-ups, God-forbid it, found out that he was using syndicate resources for his own personal experiments he'd be killed for sure. That was why he had to be very careful about how he proceeded. He had to move forward slowly. Scotch grabbed the binoculars off a stand, and stood up. It was time to track down a bird-kid. He had to go to the place the people had lost the child.

An elementary school.

* * *

"Camping trip?" I said, knowing that my voice was colder than it had been in a long time. I was alone in the hall after school. Or, well I would have rather LIKED to be alone. Instead I happened to be with none other than creepy-little-scientist-girl. I leaned against the lockers and snorted, "With the other scientist dude?"

"All the children are coming." Haibara said simply, shutting the locker behind her. I rolled my eyes. Sure I liked the kids enough, but I was quick to learn that normal little kids were nothing like my Gazzy and Angel. Nothing at all. Gazzy and Angel happened to be quite a bit more mature than anybody I'd met at this school. Except Shinichi and Haibara of course, but they don't count. "It has become a tradition for us to often go camping with Dr. Agasa. Many interesting things happen, you should come Iggy-kun...unless you're afraid of the woods."

That was decidedly a challenge in her voice. I heard her walking away and ran to catch up with her, grabbing her by the shoulder almost roughly. She stopped, but made no move to tear herself away. I held my hand up so that my thumb was pressing against my nose and stuck my tongue out at her, "I take your challenge Haibara-san."

"How good of you." She replied dryly. I turned to stalk away and felt the ground slip from underfoot. I would have cracked my head on the linoleum if it hadn't been for the fact that Haibara caught me under the arms. She almost fell back herself, but I'm a pretty light person (bird-kid thing) and she managed to keep her balance. "You should be more careful."

With that she righted me up, and left me seething in a mixture of frustration and humiliation.

**

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"Hey do you think this might be something?" Nudge asked, looking up from the computer she had been using to look up anything to do with sightings of lone bird-kids. Max was hoping that they'd just run into Iggy and not...you know who. The teen leader crossed the grassy area they were all sitting on and peered over Nudge's shoulder at the laptop.

"What is it?" Gazzy asked, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Total stretched and yawned sleepily beside him. Angel stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up quite yet. Dylan was already stretching and walking over to stand behind them. Max turned to look back at the screen.

"An article from Japan..." Nudge said, her fingers rapidly tapping at the keys. For a moment the screen blurred and Max thought that the machine would crash for sure. Nope, not at all. In fact it cleared up rather nicely in English instead of the confusing symbols that had been there before. Max read the screen rapidly.

"Well?" Gazzy asked, looking antsy and itching to go. He wanted to find Iggy so badly, and Max knew that. The two had always been very close. Max ran a hand through her hair and narrowed her eyes. She heaved a sigh.

"We better start learning Japanese." She finally said. The article described a smaller child, but she couldn't just ignore this. It was the only lead they'd really had since starting this search. She had to exhaust every single one, for Iggy's sake. She would find him, or she would never forgive herself for slipping away so easily after Fang left.

* * *

_**Sorry...**_

_**I know that the chapter was a bit short...**_

_**But it's sort of a filler thingy...:3**_

**_This is slightly random but..._**

**_Have ANY of you ever noticed how EVERYBODY on DC seems to have bluish eyes?_**

**_It drives me nuts actually -.-u_**

_**Reviews are appreciated of course X3**_


	6. The Falling Man

_Disclaimer:_

_Don't own it...:3_

_**I wish that I could animate things really well like some of those awesome people on YouTube...**_

_**It'd be cool to make an AMV for this fanfic...XP**_

_**Em Phantom- YAY! Thank you so much! Iggy's a super fun character to write, and I'm glad that he's not OOC...**_

_**DetectiveThief- Eh, sorry for the shortness. Hope the case makes ya feel better :3**_

_**Elena Forest- WOOHOO! Guessing! Oh, I know what you mean. I finished that book in record MR time...X3 You're guesses about the Iggy-Flock thing are SLIGHTLY close...but it's not exactly what'll happen. **_

_**Ashimattack- They won't meet up QUITE yet...I kinda wanna throw some Haibara and Scotch at Iggy first :3 Lawl, I love that you're reading this even though you haven't watched DC. XP**_

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_Chapter Six- The Falling Man_

To say that I was getting agitated is a bit of an understatement. It was the day after the news announcement, and I was sitting in Agasa's house. I didn't like it here for several reasons. One, it was a scientists house. Two, I could hear all sorts of beepy things, which got really annoying. Three, Haibara popped up EVERYWHERE in here.

The best solution I could get for this was to sit on a chair and not move. Something that is INCREDIBLY boring for somebody like me. I felt my attention-span begin slipping away invariably, and wondered why the heck we had to hang out here anyways. If anything we were just in the way.

"Kudou-kun wants to call that woman." Haibara said dryly, right in my ear. I jumped, and almost fell out of the stupid seat. "Do not act as if I just smacked you in the face. It is unbecoming, I merely pinpointed what it was on your mind and gave you the solution. That is not something so bad...is it Iggy-kun?"

What can you possibly say in reply? Really if I did say anything I'd end up looking like a jerk, and she'd act just as calm as ever. So I merely turned my chair so that I was facing the other direction. She grabbed the back of my chair and I yelped as she dragged me across the room. "What are you DOING?"

"You're in my computer chair." She simply replied, and climbed up next to me. I shrank away from her, and could almost see the fact that she was arching an eyebrow at me. "You seem as though you are frightened of me. What is it that scares you...Iggy-kun?"

She was uncomfortably close to me now, I was aware of the fact that her face was merely centimeters from my own. I felt my cheeks heat up against my will, and there was something like cold amusement that leaked into the chuckle Haibara let out. My face darkened even further when I heard Agasa clear his throat and Shinichi snickering in the corner.

"Sorry to interrupt..." Shinichi said, "But Iggy-kun and I should be heading home, ne?"

I felt my face heat up even further somehow. The last thing I wanted, no, the last thing I NEEDED was for Shinichi to be convinced I had a thing for that glacier that pretended she was human. I hardly had time to process this very thought before Haibara jerked away from me so quickly and violently that I ended up on the floor. I hissed as my head cracked against the side of the wall.

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That happened to be the most interesting thing that had happened for hours. As soon as we got home we did what we did every night. Which was to eat Ran's delicious cooking, me having about thirty helpings, and then to sit and 'watch' the television while Ran helped me with my homework.

It was INSANELY boring.

What I would give just to climb to the roof, spread my wings wide, and go for a quick flight. I felt as if my wings were itching from the disuse, and I couldn't imagine how out of shape they were going to be. Plus I had to be thinking of finding Fang, and figuring out a way to get ahold of Max.

"Iggy-kun!" Ran said, her tone exasperatted. I blinked, and let out a nervous laugh. "That's the third time you've drifted into daydreaming land. We need to get your homework finished, and if you would stay focused I'm sure that we would end up having it finished in no time."

"Oh...what's the question Ran-neechan?" I asked, trying my hand at being cute. Ran was having none of it though, she heaved a tired sigh and I heard the rustling papers.

"What is four plus four Iggy-kun?" She queried.

"Eight..." I said, feeling boredom settle like a numbing cloud over my brain. So the lesson continued, me slipping into a kind of stupor that people only get when doing math problems. The annoying thing? It was completely pointless since I knew every single thing.

"Iggy-kun you did great!" Ran said when we'd finished. Well Gee, thanks. Even without an education I'd hope that I could figure out how to put two and two together. Literally. "What's the matter Iggy-kun, you seem as though you are upset over something?"

"It's just..." I sighed through my nose and rolled over onto my back. "I don't think I've ever been this bored in my entire life. I wish something could HAPPEN so that I could have something to do! Anything exciting, you know?"

"Personally I like the peace." Shinichi said, and it sounded as though he was felt rather strong about that. I was confused by this, until my wish was granted for me in a few seconds. I heard Shinichi scramble to his feet, "Iggy-kun move!"

"Eh?" I said, just then the window I was lying near seemed to explode. Glass scattered around me, and something very heavy slammed into me from above. I felt my adrenaline spike, and for a moment had to wrestle so that my feet were braced against whoever was on top of me. Glass bit into my back and I shoved whoever it was off of me with all my life.

"What happened?" Kogoro said after breaking from his snoring. A hush filled the room and I heard glass shift and break as Shinichi moved toward whoever landed on me. I was standing up, ready to kick that person in the face if they even tried to move close to me. There was a pause.

"He's dead." Shinichi said.

Ever hear the saying: Be careful what you wish for?

* * *

The police came a few moments later, and I hung back with Shinichi while they bustled about the apartment building. I was listening with some vague interest as Megure approached Kogoro. "Yet another dead body, Kogoro-san? Why is it that wherever you go dead people seem to follow?"

"Oi, oi! This is my HOME." Kogoro said, sounding distinctly irritated. Shinichi was oddly quiet, and I couldn't help but wonder if he felt like this was all his fault. It was kind of a weird thought, since Shinichi seemed like the kind of person that dealt with the rational rather than things like karma and such.

"Sooo..." I said slowly, "You figured out the last murder, eh? So who dunnit' this time?"

"How am I supposed to know, I haven't had time to gather anything." Shinichi hissed irritably, probably annoyed because I broke him from his train of thought. I snickered, but was secretly feeling a little shaken about the whole ordeal. I mean, a dead guy landed on TOP of me. Grrrrrrooooossss... "Nnnn, Iggy-kun?"

"Yeah?" I asked, not liking his tone.

"How was it that you were able to kick that man off of you so easily? A child your size should have needed help getting out from under that thing." Shinichi spoke thoughtfully, and I could feel his piercing gaze on me. I tried not to shudder or give anything away as I shrugged lightly.

"You know how easy it would be to conveniently slip-up and use your real name...?" I said warningly. If he pried in my life, I'd dig his up. Shinichi stiffened, and then walked away from me. I think that I probably made him a little mad. Oops. Still, since there was nothing else to do I found myself trailing after him. "So how did he end up falling through our window?"

"Crane." Shinichi replied, not really in a curt tone but in a way that told me his attention was mostly elsewhere. I heard him put a little spring into his step, and he jumped up, "Hey! Ran-neechan who are these people in the house? They don't look as if they are police officers. They have yellow hats on!"

"They're from the construction site next door." One officer was nice enough to offer. "The one that Yamaguichi-san came from."

"Oooooh..." Shinichi said, sounding every bit like the curious little kid that he probably appeared to be. (Hey, how the heck would I know, I'm blind remember?) I drew closer to the group of people that I could sense in the room. Two men. One was clearly unhappy, shifting from foot to foot nervously. The other was standing very still.

"Hello little boy." One of them, the nervous one, said. "I'm Kuzuki and this is my co-worker Akito-san."

Somebody must have stumbled then, because Shinichi went flying into Akito. I heard the man yelped in a pained way, and he stepped back quickly to keep his balance. As he did this something flew up from his boots and filled my nose. I sneezed violently, and backed away coughing.

"Are you alright, little boy?" Kuzuki said, obviously helping Shinichi to his feet. Meanwhile I was sneezing up a storm in the corner of the room. Shinichi let out a chipperish affirmative to his being alright before dragging me off in the other direction. I let out a protest as he shoved me out of the room.

"Where are we going?" I queried, following after him. Shinichi did not reply, but we ended up outside. I followed after him as he ran through traffic, which, I might add, is kind of freaky when you can't see where you're going. We somehow ended up safely on the other side and he ran up several flights of stairs.

I followed after him merely because I was caught up in his intensity. Something was going on in that head of his, and I was itching with curiousity to figure out what it was. Shinichi slowed his walking and opened a door. I knew by the feeling of cool air that we were on the roof.

I followed slowly after him, Shinichi darted back and forth as I stood on the rooftop. I felt and urge to fly so strongly that I almost jumped off the roof. I got to the edge in fact, before Shinichi noticed me and jerked me back. "The edge is close and there is no railing. You'll fall!"

"Thanks." I said sarcastically, a little irritated. Wouldn't matter if I fell, I can fly. Well, he didn't know that so I guess I can't really blame him for that can I? Shinichi seemed confused so I tried to fix my blunder, "If it wasn't for you I probably would have broken my neck!"

Shinichi stiffened, and I heard him suck in a deep breath. He knelt down next to the edge we were near and rubbed at the ground. Something made whatever he'd picked up fluff towards my face and I sneezed. Cripe, what was WITH that today? I rubbed my nose and listened as Shinichi walked away from the edge. "Bingo..."

I heard him pick something up, and there was a distinct smile in his voice. I tipped my head to one side, had he really already figured everything out? Sheesh, it had only been like thirty minutes since the guy landed on top of me. "You know what happened?" I asked, Shinichi didn't reply right away.

"Iggy-kun, how good are you at pull ups?"

**

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**

I'm beginning to think that Shinichi has got some theatrics in his blood somewhere. I'll have to ask him about that later. Why you ask? Because he was having me freaking hanging from a building to attract the attention of all the adults and get them running up to this roof. Isn't he just a peach?

I'll admit though, it was the only way. Besides, if I was careful there was no chance of falling off at all because the cable of the crane was so close that even somebody as blind as me would be able to grab it in time. Not to mention the netting that was apparently below my feet. (Also, unknown to my good friend Shinichi of course, I happen to have my very own way of not going kersplat if I should somehow slip)

According to Shinichi the netting was hidden by the shadow of the crane, unvisible from the agency itself. He said if I fell I wouldn't die, just get a couple bruises. He's such a nice friend to make.

My fingers were starting to get cold from holding on so long, and then I heard the hasty footprints of several adults as they rushed to save the poor falling blind kid. I pulled myself up before they could get to me, and offered them a quick wave. Ran was furious at this, and I yelped a bit as she grabbed me by the hand.

"Iggy-kun were you playing a TRICK!?" Ran almost screamed in my ear. Something akin to panic lit her voice, and I felt a quick stab of guilt.

"It wasn't my idea it was Conan-niichan's!" I wailed. Ran looked up as though ready to take out my fake brother when I heard that sharp pinging sound that was Shinichi's nifty little watch-gadgety thing. Kogoro fell down after that, probably on some boards by the sound of it. Silence suddenly descended on the group.

"You know who it is?" Megure said, sounding slightly in awe. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. Still I felt my own curiousity pique. What had happened with that man, and how had Shinichi figured it all out by now?

"Yes..." Shinichi said, using Kogoro's voice again with that nifty voice-modifier of his. He's got a bunch of nifty things...hey, I think I should get some nifty things as well. I deserve them, if Shinichi gets them. Anyways, the rest of the deduction is in Kogoro's voice, got it? You should be getting into this drill by now..."The one who killed Yamaguichi-san was...Kuzuki-san."

"No!" I heard Akito yell, stepping forward so quickly that he bumped into me. I was aware, suddenly, of the fact that he didn't move his arms at all as he did this. Which was weird. "No! It wasn't him who killed Yamaguichi-san...it...it was me Mouri-metantei..."

"Akito-san..." Kuzuki whispered as though appalled. I guess, I'd be surprised if one of my friends killed somebody I knew...heh. Can you imagine that? One of MY friends killing somebody for a stupid reason like greed, jealousy, or revenge? I swear, if we killed someone on ACCIDENT we'd be writhing in guilt.

"No Akito-san, it was not you who killed Yamaguichi-san." Shinichi persisted, running over the outburst like it was nothing. It didn't seem to phase him at all that this would be thrown into his scenario. "You believe that you killed Yamaguichi-san because it was you who was used as a murder weapon."

"How can a man be used as a murder weapon?" Kuzuki said, though there was something in his tone that made me think he was a little nervous. "There is no possible way you could use another human being to kill somebody else without them realizing that they were murdering that person."

"There is one way..." Shinichi said, and I heard my cue. Suddenly what he had asked me to do before he left the rooftop made perfect sense. I stepped back quickly and yelped as the ground vanished beneath me. Automatically, Ran grabbed ahold of me and I lightly bumped into the side of the building. Lightly, because Shinichi had insisted on putting padding there before we pulled this stunt.

"It was the powder on Akito-san's shoes that made me realize it, and the way he acted after Conan-kun caught himself on his wrists." Shinichi continued as Ran pulled me up, I could feel the group cautiously peering over the edge of the building. "This trick was done very simply. He used Akito-san as a weapon, who did not even realize that he was killing his co-worker, by making Yamaguichi-san begin to fall. He knew that Akito-san would automatically try to catch him..."

"How could I have possibly made my co-worker fall from fifteen meters away?" Kuzuki exclaimed, "I'm sorry metantei, but you are clearly not as good as the papers read you are. Your theory is completely ridiculous..."

"It can be done simply enough, with a bit of background checking and some fishing wire." Shinichi countered. Kuzuki fell completely silent then, and I had the distinct feeling that I wouldn't like to be cornered by Shinichi through deduction. Note to self: If it comes down to it I'm TELLING him about my bird-gene thing.

"Akito-san, you're not afraid of heights at all, are you? And from the callouses on your fingers and hands I'd say that you climb mountains quite a bit don't you?" Shinichi said which was...well, in my opinion slightly random. Yet I had a feeling that it pertained to what was going on around me somehow.

"Yes..." Akito said, sounding as though he completely agreed with me. "I'm a guide. I teach many people how to climb rocks without harnesses...it's very dangerous and requires a lot of concentration and balance."

"So it is a natural reflex for you to, no matter what, grab for somebody who is falling no?" Shinichi said. Realization seemed to strike the entire crowd, and I blinked. Oh, I got it! So the guy knew that Akito would grab for the falling guy because of his reflexes from teaching rock climbing. "Even if there was a safety net just in case the workers would walk off the edge?"

"Safety net?" Megure asked, sounding confused.

"There are no railings so they rigged up safety nets..." Akito explained swiftly because at the moment Kuzuki seemed rather unable to say anything at all. He was breathing a little hard. "The truth is...if I hadn't grabbed onto Yamaguichi-san he probably would have survived..."

"Kuzuki-san tested this several times. He checked to see the way a person falling would hit the side of the building. It was at that particular spot that, when catching the falling person, the victim would have had his head slam into an outcropping of the building." Shinichi said, "That is why Kuzuki-san is treating his wrists carefully too...ne Kuziki-san?"

No fair, I couldn't have seen that since I was blind. Kuzuki let out a choking noise and then he started to laugh. "You think this all could hold up in court? You still haven't explained how I magically pushed my co-worker without Akito-san noticing, and without me being close enough to touch him."

"Not magic, Kuzuki-san. Just a simple tug of piano wire." Shinichi replied, and I could hear a distinctive smirk in his voice. The cat was cornering his prey. "Inspector Megure, you noticed that the victim was missing one shoe yes? Inspection of the safety net will probably reveal the shoe, and it will have a hook and some piano wire in the hole."

"Kuzuki-san often takes our shoes to a shiner he knows. It's a joke of ours...even our sneakers we give to him. He says that it's a family business..." Akito said, sounding a little horrified.

"Right, so it was easy to create a hole in the back of the shoe by burning through it. You made something up when Yamaguichi found it, and he was willing enough to wear it. Using Piano wire and a hook you probably bent to 'pick something up' and then slipped the hook through the hole in the shoe. Then it was just a matter of jerking the piano wire when you were far enough away, and Akito-san attempted to catch his falling comrade. While Akito-san did this he twisted his wrists, and not only effectively killed Yamaguichi by accidentally bashing his head into the wall, but dropped his body on the hook of the crane do to the pain in his wrists. That is how it swung and ended up falling through my window." Shinichi said.

"No...proof." Kuzuki said, but in a way that told me he was dreading whatever Shinichi would pull out next.

I heard the footsteps of somebody else, and a police officer cleared his throat. "We searched the netting and found the piano wire...there is some blood on it, as well as some blood on these torn gloves that we found in the net as well. It seems as though the wire cut through the thin fabric and whoever it was that was holding the wire got hurt."

"What did you do to your hand, Kuzuki-san?" Shinichi asked. Silence filled the night air.

"Dammit..." Kuzuki croaked, and he snorted with laughter. "Well dammit. Dammit all to hell that it would have been your window. I did that damned test a hundred times and it never once fell on the crane like that...I should have been able to figure out..."

"Care to tell us why?" Shinichi said, a curiousity in his tone. Bleak curiousity though, I didn't think it was possible to have curiousity like that but Shinichi managed to somehow pull it off. For a moment I didn't think Kuzuki would reply when he finally started to laugh again. A creepy laugh.

"Why? It's as simple as the fact that the dick stole my girlfriend. Then he DUMPED her. He took her, told her he loved her, and left her on the curb. You know what she did? She killed herself, over HIM..." Kuzuki's voice trembled. "Yamaguichi was supposed to be my FRIEND dammit, and he took my girl..."

"Y-you mean that Moshima-chan was...was..." Akito let out a horrified choking noise.

"Yes, she was my girlfriend. We tried to keep it quiet because her father didn't approve of me, he hated my family. So when you set her and Yamaguichi up you were helping him take her away from me. I only half blamed you, after all you didn't know. But Yamaguichi...Yamaguichi KNEW..." Kuzuki laughed harshly.

"But...but if you don't blame me..." Akito choked, and I heard him fall to his knees. "Why? Why did you stain MY hands with blood? My heart was broken because of Moshima-chan, I blamed myself. And now...now it's these hands that ended a life, even if it wasn't by my own will. I've killed somebody...why would you make me do that?"

For that Kuzuki had no answer.

* * *

It took a long time to clean up the glass in the house, and Kogoro was snoring away on the couch. I was a little irritated, but I suppose it wasn't exactly HIS fault that he'd been knocked unconscious. It was terribly quiet for a minute, and when Ran left the room I heaved a depressed sigh. "Do you ever get used to it?"

"What? Murder?" Shinichi asked, and I felt him breathe a sigh. "No. Even though I love detective work, even though I enjoy piecing puzzles together...I will never get used to the fact that a human-being is sometimes willing to destroy a life to benefit them. That's what murder is usually about. Somebody is benefitted in the end..."

"I don't get it." I sighed, "People suck."

"Not all people Iggy-kun." He replied, "You can't think that. Even when there is cruelty in the world, black-mail and hatred. Even when a man beats a child and rapes a woman...For every act of pain in the world there is an equal act of kindness to balance it out. Evil is just more obvious because it sparks feelings of dislike within us..."

"So why not be kind?" I replied back, feeling an anger toward my past rise up. "Why not just use our strength, our sciences for kindness instead of cruelty?"

"Because if there was no cruelty there would be no kindness. You can't have one without the other, because you need something completely opposite to compare it to." Shinichi replied, and then Ran was back in the room. I don't know if I was exactly happy at that moment, but I wasn't unhappy either.

"You know what I've decided?" I said, hating how my voice sounded so pathetically small and young. "I've decided that I'm never going to wish for something to happen, EVER again. I'll take boring over dead people ANY day..."

**

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**

_**DEEEEEEEP Shinichi moment...**_

_**He's a very deep person, isn't he?**_

_**Then Iggy comes out with his "I'm never going to wish for anything to happen" revelation. **_

_**Lawl...**_

_**Reviews are appreciated :3**_


	7. The Dreaded Camping Trip, Part One

_Disclaimer:_

_Really, if I owned it I wouldn't have to WAIT to watch every episode, ne?_

_**So I've been a tad bit neglective...**_

_**But I got attached to an awesome DC fanfiction...**_

_**A Witch's Apprentice, if you haven't read it I suggest you check it out.**_

_**It is very well written. X3**_

_**Now then, for THIS particular fanfic...**_

_**I've enjoyed writing this one up.**_

_**I particularly like the interactions with the Detective Boys, I love those little kids. I think that anybody meeting them would have a hard time hating them. Heck, HAIBARA seems to like them! So of course I had to make Iggy be a sucker for em' X3**_

_**Em Phantom- Thank you! I was totally going to have Akito be the original killer, but I changed my mind halfway through the chapter. X3 No worries, I appreciate that you took the time to review.**_

_**Elena Forest- Writing contest? I haven't heard of that...what is it? Doh no! You're one of mah only reviewers! No dying! -thrusts chapter at you-**_

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_Chapter Seven- The Dreaded Camping Trip, Part One_

I was dreading it, and when the day before the weekend finally came I can't say that I was in a good mood. Yet to get away from the cases that had been chasing us ever since the falling man case...

Yeah, that's right. I've discovered the hard way that wherever Shinichi goes, Death seems to follow him like a lost puppy. They were simple enough cases. A woman who murdered her husband by cyanide, two friends who shoved a girl in front of a car, and a young teen who attempted to kill themselves but ended the life of a person trying to help them instead. Shinichi was able to find the culprit of every single case using the smallest of clues. I'd like to say that I helped, but really the best I could do was distract Kogoro so that he could go snooping. No, make that distract RAN.

For some reason she was super tuned into Shinichi. Nobody in the room could give a flying rat's tail what Edogawa Conan was up to, but Ran always seemed to be looking out for him. No matter what.

That was four murders (counting the falling man) in about as many days. I was ready for a break from death. Even so, spending time with Haibara in the woods...it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do with my weekend. I was thinking of backing out some way. It was about time that I let Ran discover my hidden talents in the kitchen anyways...

Just as I was thinking this a book was slammed down in the desk in front of me. Now, when a person can SEE and is off in La-la land this can be something startling. Imagine what it's like for somebody who happens to be freaking BLIND. Since the slamming startled me out of my own world I wasn't calm enough to figure out who had decided to wake me from my zone-out.

Until, of course, they spoke. It was Genta, obvious to me now as he slammed his hands on the desk after the book. "Oi, oi! You're not thinking of backing out of our trip, ARE you Iggy?"

I blinked in some vague surprised, and turned my face in the direction of one Kudo Shinichi. I heard him chuckle nervously, but there was a hint of pride in that laugh. As I did this Mitsuhiko lightly tapped the desk in front of me, a nervous gesture. "It would be our first camping trip with you invited along, Iggy-kun..."

"Please come!" Ayumi put in, grabbing my hand. I blinked at that, and heard two low growls escape from Mitsuhiko and Genta. Shinichi snickered as though he found this very, very amusing. "Please Iggy-kun, we all want to make it official that you are part of the Detective Boys!"

"Who ever said we would let him join our group?" Haibara asked, sitting down in her desk. I would have liked to glare, but I was afraid that I'd get poor Mitsuhiko caught in the crossfire. "He does not appear to care too much for us, ne? Perhaps if he were more trusting of our group..."

"Iggy-kun is not trusting?" Mitsuhiko asked. I felt a flash of irritation.

"I'M not using a fake name." I retorted, much to the confusion of the other children in the room. For the sake of not getting poor Shinichi pulled into this argument I asked, "How did you guys know that I didn't want to come?"

"You mutter to yourself." Mitsuhiko said proudly.

"A lot!" Ayumi put in.

"You were saying, 'Stay home with Ran...' and stuff like that, ne guys?" Genta added, my eyebrow was twitching and I would have rather liked to cast a look in Shinichi's direction. After all, it was his fault that these kids were becoming freakishly observant. Not only that, but apparently I TALK to myself? That's just weird.

"I'll stop talking to myself." I said flatly.

"You sound like Haibara..." Genta said, and I was confident enough at how close he was to me that I could send a death-glare in his direction. Shinichi snickered at the fact that this bothered me.

"PLEASE COME IGGY-KUN!" All three children pleaded, nearly crushing me as they leapt on top of me. I let out several choking noises of protest, and after I managed to squirm away fairly unruffled I pretended not to be able to hear them and straightened the cuffs of my shirt.

I could feel their anticipation for an answer, and I was incredibly amused by it. So I didn't like Haibara, but the kids were genuinely nice and I didn't have the heart to disappoint them. I heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes. "Sure, I guess camping won't be too bad. I'll go..." The children cheered but I held up a single finger, "But only on one condition?"

"Eh?" All three kids said, leaning closer to me. Normally I would have been bothered at my sudden lack of personal space. As it was, at the moment, I was only very amused.

"I get to cook three of the meals, at least." I said. Hey, I know it's kind of a weird condition, but I really wanted to be able to DO something and prove that I wasn't just the blind-kid of the group. I'm also the chef. There was a doubtful pause and I found myself smirking a little, "What, are you afraid I'll poison you?"

"Can you really cook food if you can't see?" Genta asked bluntly. You know, I gotta say that I kinda like the kid for that.

"Would it be gross?" Mitsuhiko whispered, something that a normal person probably wouldn't have heard but I have sharper hearing than most other people in the world. Ayumi suddenly squealed and clapped her hands together. I turned my face in her direction, and can only assume that everyone else did the same.

"Fine then, Iggy-kun. Three meals." Ayumi stated, "But you have to come camping with us and be nice to EVERYONE, even Ai-chan. Ne, Conan-kun?"

"Eh? Oh...erm, yeah." Shinichi said, probably surprised at how Ayumi sprang her attention on him all of a sudden. I snickered to myself as he had clearly not really been that involved in the conversation.

**

* * *

**

I...am a complete and total idiot. Or baka, since I'm in Japan right now, ne? It was the next day, and we were all jammed into the professor's lovely VERY SMALL yellow car. (I know it's yellow because I touched it...) I was pretty sure that several traffic laws were being broken. What with me, Ayumi, Shinichi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all shoved in the back seat. Where was Haibara you ask?

The shrunken woman happened to be sitting in her very comfortable front seat.

"Wouldn't it..." I squirmed a little as Ayumi's elbow dug painfully into my ribs. She uttered a quick sorry, and this caused our whole sardined group to wriggle about even more in a vain attempt to get comfortable. "Wouldn't it make more sense to let Genta-kun sit in the front seat, if anybody had to?"

"I don't much care for closed in spaces, Iggy-kun." Haibara retorted, a note of teasing in her tone. I felt a flare of irritation but I'm a bird-kid of my word. I kept my mouth shut and silently fumed.

Speaking of closed in spaces and bird-kids, we don't like those either. Kind of brings back nasty memories of dog-crates and days spent in cages. An involuntary shudder rippled through me, and I felt Ayumi's concern for me suddenly spike. Oh jeez, keep your eyes on Shinichi kid, I don't want to break some little girl's heart or something. "Are you alright, Iggy-kun?"

"Just thinking of being shoved in a small dog-crate." I said cheerfully. Something that some people don't know, sometimes blatantly saying the truth can confuse even the most intuitive people. They tend to think you will lie about something.

"Iggy-kun...is it alright if I can talk to you alone later?" Ayumi asked, I inwardly would have liked to have groaned in dismay. Bad enough that she had fallen for Shinichi, but me too? Nah, it probably wasn't that. I mean, I'm hot STUFF but...okay, sorry for the ego-burst...moving on!

"Sure, Ayumi-chan." I replied. Mitsuhiko and Genta were bristling in the corner and Shinichi was chuckling and muttering something under his breath. Like he had any room to talk. I'm BLIND and I can see that Ayumi has got it BAD for 'Edogawa Conan'. It actually kind of makes me a little angry to think that in the end she's going to get hurt, no matter what.

Poor Ayumi...

"We're here!" Agasa stated, and I hardly waited for the car to stop before I opened the door and leaped outside. AH! Fresh air! I could hear the birds, feel the forest living and breathing around me! Wildlife, I hadn't realized how much I missed the outdoors.

Something about Japan, it has some very wonderful places of wilderness. I can't see and I could FEEL the beauty around this place. It was like a clear aura of calm and security that settled over this area. Agasa had picked a very good spot. I could hear the water of a brook nearby, and walking closer to the woods I could smell berries.

I longed, now more than any of the time I'd spent in Tokyo, to spread my wings and fly. To feel the clean air above the tree tops through my feathers. I decided that later I was going to sneak off and work that in. I needed it anyways, I felt like I was going to die without being able to taste the sky.

"Iggy-kun..." Ayumi whispered, startling me. Somehow she had managed to sneak up behind me. While I was marveling at this fact she started to shift her feet about nervously. "You and Conan-kun...are brothers ne?"

"Yeessss..." I said, blinking in slight confusion.

"Could you tell me...the day that Conan-kun was born? He didn't ever mention a birthday, and it's been almost a year since we met him besides..." Ayumi faltered while I was freaking out inside my head and mentally facepalming the snot out of myself. "Please, Iggy-kun, I would like to know so that we can celebrate it for him!"

I can imagine that she was blushing at that. I would have liked to see that, I realized. I bet it was kind of cute. At the moment though, I was kind of trying to figure out what the heck to do or say. Thing is, I'm not really Shinichi's brother. I've got no FREAKIN' CLUE when his birthday is, not at all.

Cue convenient-yet-annoying-icy-scientist. Haibara pushed her way between us, and I had the distinct feeling that she had been closely listening to what we were saying. Yet...for some reason I wasn't annoyed by that. I was at FIRST, until I noticed that she was feeling...almost protective toward Ayumi. Was it possible that Haibara actually cared for that little girl in her own way?

"You should both be helping us set up camp. Iggy-kun, since you would like to feed us tonight you should be preparing the campfire." Haibara spoke coldly, but despite this I actually felt a burst of excitement. So not only did I get to cook today, but I got to play with FIRE too. Heck yes! Maybe this camping trip wasn't so bad after all!

* * *

A roaring fire and, if I do say so myself, a very good meal. It was ready. I smirked as I stood up and ladled the stew into everybody's bowls. This stew happened to be one of my favorites to make, and one of the easiest while camping. All done with herbs and plants that you can find almost anywhere.

"Mmmm! It's goooood!" Genta exclaimed, having been the first to bravely put a spoonful in his mouth. I ate my own food in silence, but felt myself glow like the fire itself under the young child's praise. Children are the best judges of things like food and art. They tend to be unfailingly honest.

"Delicious!" Mitsuhiko said, sounding slightly surprised and rather pleased. "Iggy-kun this is the best food I've ever eaten in my entire life!"

"Even better than sweets!" Ayumi practically sang. I found myself grinning at that. I could see how Shinichi had grown so close to these children despite the true difference in ages. (Not that I'm one to talk, since my bestfriend happens to be Gazzy...) These kids were incredibly good natured. Innocent on a level that could, at times, be misinterpretted as a little idiotic. Yet they weren't stupid by any means. No, the Detective Boys were very smart.

"It is very good Iggy-kun." Shinichi supplied.

"It seems that Iggy-kun has a hidden talent, ne?" Haibara asked, and for the shortest of moments I felt as though her words weren't spoken in a cold tone of voice. I felt hyper-aware of the fact that I was under her intelligent gaze as she added, "You have a great potential in this field, did you know that Iggy-kun?"

Field, as in become an actual chef? Me, a BIRD-KID? You know, it's weird to say but I actually kind of liked the idea. Maybe after Max was done saving the world I could go to a culinary school or something. That couldn't be so bad I don't think, as normal school. Not if it was to learn about something I liked so much? I found myself actually glowing under her praise.

"YAY!" Ayumi exclaimed, "Iggy-kun and Ai-chan are getting along!"

Did I really seem that mean to Haibara? Alright, so if the kids were noticing that big of a difference I needed to calm down a bit with that. I sipped at my bowl of stew quietly and didn't say anything. Thankfully Haibara didn't either. The kids chattered endlessly as I ate, but I was suddenly in my own world.

Had I misread her? No, I hadn't even attempted to do THAT. I was prejudiced, against her and Agasa just because they happened to be scientists. How ignorant of me. I, of all people, should figure that it's not always appearances that you should judge people by. Or, even, their demeanor.

I'm more in tune to emotion than most people. Every person has emotion, it's something completely natural. I think part of the reason that I'm so...uncomfortable around Haibara is the fact that she doesn't show as much emotion as so many people. I can't even feel it flickering on the edges of my sixth sense. It just doesn't work. It wasn't because she didn't have them, I think. I think...it was because she was hiding them from the world.

**

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**

Somewhere deep in the forest a man was trembling over the remains of a young woman. His hands shook as he grabbed for his cellphone, but he paused, fingers lingering over the numbers. No, he couldn't do it. Couldn't. The man's eyes teared up as he let his gaze drift to the broken body of the woman on the ground.

Soon the other people in his camping group would be back, and they would know who had killed Chiziro. The tears had begun to fall, and he was struggling to breathe without hiccuping. Hadn't he read somewhere, that if you disassembled a body and buried it that the chances of it's ever really being discovered were practically zero? The idea churned his stomach.

"I'm sorry Chiziro..." He croaked, and hobbled almost drunkenly over to the woodpile nearby. The hatchet was small, but the fear of discovery leant him adrenaline. It would be messy, certainly, but it would work. After a heartbeat he lifted a pistol from the ground near her body and put it in his holster.

The blade of the hatchet caught the silver moonlight as he lifted it high above his head...

* * *

Agasa had a seperate tent while all us...erm, kids, shared one. This was fine, I supposed, except for the fact that young children tend to think that sharing air with other people makes it impossible to stay silent. I'm almost positive that we had been lying in our sleeping bags for nearly an hour, and the kids were still talking.

"Shh..." Shinichi said, but in a soft tone of voice that suggested he was very close to falling asleep. He yawned, and I had to stifle my own yawn in reaction to the sound of it. It's annoying how yawning is so contagious. "If you don't go to sleep we won't be able to have very much fun tomorrow..."

This quieted the tent considerably. Though, for about thirty more minutes, the silence would be punctuated by giggling. Every time this happened I would pull the sleeping bag ever higher on my head. Finally blessed silence dropped over us like a thick blanket, only disturbed by the soft breathing of those that shared the tent with me. I sighed softly, and began to close my eyes.

Then I remembered my promise to myself. That I would fly, and what better time to sneak off then when all the kids were dead alseep? Slowly I sat up, keeping my attention on Shinichi the most. For all I knew his observations skills ran none stop. I could totally imagine him shooting awake and asking me where I was going from a completely dead sleep.

Stepping around the sleeping bodies was tough, but I could tell where everyone was by the heat they radiated. I didn't squish anybody with my feet on the way out, and successfully made it out of the tent. Though, as I zipped the flap open, I couldn't help but wince. The noise had been excruciatingly loud in the quiet area.

I managed to slip my sneakers on without incident, and carefully began to walk away from camp. Awesome thing about being a bird-kid is that we've got a great sense of direction. I doubted that I would get lost as long as I remembered which way it was to camp. The farther I walked into the forest, and the more excited I began to feel.

It's terribly intoxicating, the feeling you get when you sneak away.

Of course, me being possibly the most unlucky bird-kid in the whole world, things didn't exactly go well. I somehow managed to stumble on a log. Not too surprising, since I had been completely ignoring my surroundings. I yelped and pinwheeled my arms in a vain, and probably incredibly comical, attempt to keep my balance. I failed epically, and fell down on the ground.

It didn't hurt. That was the first thing I noticed. I blinked twice in surprise and picked up a handful of the soil I had fallen on top of. It came away easily in my hand, and judging from the cool temperature it had been recently disturbed in some way. GAH! Shinichi's deductions are starting to rub off on me...

Still, something bothered me about that. I rubbed at the dirt, and discovered that I was sitting on a freshly covered up hole of some sort. Grimacing slightly, I plunged my hands through the soft soil. When my fingers closed on something cold and hard I blinked. I pulled it out and ran my hand over it.

The thing was frigid, but there was something strange about the bottom of it. It wasn't quite dry, but it wasn't quite wet. The tips were splayed out in five directions, and my delicate fingers detected something attatched to the base of one of the long tips. A ring? As this flashed through my mind a sudden horrible realization slammed into me.

It was a hand.

I dropped it faster than I've dropped anything in my entire life. My heart was racing so quickly that I thought it would burst through my chest. Another dead body, oh but how disgusting I was holding the thing in my HANDS! I forced myself to calm down. Something I had learned in my short time of living with Shinichi, panicking never helped in these situations.

I decided to force the feeling away. It was strange to do, but I somehow managed to place my panic into a small box and shove it down into a different part of my consciousness. I groped for the thing, and paused. Wouldn't I need something to carry it in? I couldn't find this place again, I didn't think, and what if whoever buried it came back?

Oh, DUH! As soon as this thought raced through my head I realized how utterly stupid I was being. The hole I was one had SOFT soil. As in RECENTLY dug. I scrambled to my feet, my senses suddenly on high alert. I heard a choked noise, something like a sob. Cripe I was so stupid.

I spun, ready to kick whoever was near in the face when I felt the cold barrel press against my forehead. I froze, my heart squeezing with fear. The gun was trembling, and as my eyes widened I heard somebody sob. "I'm so sorry little boy. I never wanted to kill anybody, but you've seen everything now..."

So it was that I was at gunpoint for the second time in my life, for witnessing a crime...when I happened to be freaking blind.

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_**Uh-oh! **_

_**Iggy's gotten himself into a pickle now! How will he get out of this mess?**_

_**You'll just have to read on to find out...**_

_**Sorry for the lacking of Max and others in this...**_

_**They ARE coming, after this next chapter! :3**_

_**Reviews are appreciated **_


	8. The Dreaded Camping Trip, Part Two

_Disclaimer:_

_Oh Disclaimer, taunting me so...no I don't own DC or MR...-forlorn sigh-_

_**YAY! More Iggy!**_

_**I'll get right into this. :3**_

_**Ashimattack- (for both reviews) Hey, don't worry about it. As long as you come back I don't mind you missing a chapter or two...X3 I'm glad you were so happy with the two chapters, and I hope that you can like the characters from DC even though you hardly know em'. Indeed, Shinichi has a nasty habit of stumbling upon the dead, and it tends to affect any of the people within immediate contact of him. I wrote more, here you go. **_

_**Elena Forest- Did you? Lawl, I had some fun with that computer chair bit. X3 Dylan learning how to fly? XP I wanted to hate him so badly, but he was just too sweet. I'd try that contest if I wasn't too busy with this...lol. The Detective Boys are really fun to write, and I'm glad you liked the end. Here's more chapter stuff for your eyeballs to eat...X3**_

**_Note to ya'll- _**

**_I'm almost done with the next chapter, already! -gasps- So it'll probably be uploaded tomorrow if I can get online!_**

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_Chapter Eight- The Dreaded Camping Trip, Part Two_

It was totally stupid, because even though it was the second time I'd had a gun to my head it was completely different. For one thing, the man holding the gun didn't seem like he had ever used one before. He was trembling badly, and sobbing. Nothing like the man that held the pistol to my head before. No coldness was in this, and the guy here kept saying he was sorry.

Honestly, how could he think it mattered how many times he said sorry? In the end my head was going to go kaboom anyways.

Yet, even though there were those distinct differences it felt like the first time. Literally, felt like it. I felt as if I'd been transported into that dark alleyway. As if the blood of that woman, the person I had failed to protect, was running over my fingers. I felt as if that gun, which was hot from his firing at her, was pressed to the center of my forehead.

I panicked. Every rational thought vanished from my head. You can say that I regressed. I felt a kind of terror that I didn't even think was humanly possible to feel. I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't move. I wanted to scream, but my throat was paralyzed. All I could do was sit there and feel the memories pulsing through me.

"Not a murderer...just a little boy...oh God...oh God..." The man's words drifted in and out of my consciousness. I found some part of my mind that was screaming at me to do something. Utilize his hesitation. After all, I could easily have broken his wrist, pint-sized or otherwise.

I still couldn't bring myself to move. I just kept thinking of that man's cold voice, the anger that I had invoked in a killer. I shut my eyes and inside somewhere I bitterly laughed at myself. I was going to die because I was afraid of a few memories. How idiotic of me. Just when I was certain that he had finally worked up the courage to shoot...the gun was knocked from his hand.

I gaped, my mouth falling open as the man yelped. I could tell that whatever had loosened his grip on the pistol was a tree branch. A stick that somebody swung as hard as they could. THAT wasn't really what surprised me though. What surprised me was the hand that closed on mine, and the quick utterance of a single sentence. "Iggy-kun, get up and run!"

She dragged me to my feet, and I stumbled after her. A bullet grazed passed us as we ran desperately through the forest. Apparently he had lost his fear of shooting us, that man. I could have just flown away, but I would have left her alone then and I couldn't do that. Not after she had saved my life.

Another shot rang out, and Haibara yelped and must have fallen down. "Haibara!" I yelled, thinking that she had been shot, but she was on her feet and running on.

"Tripped!" She cried, and I was spurred into motion by the bullet that whizzed by my head. I thought that we'd be shot for sure, or that I'd somehow manage to get lost. The only thing I could do was run after Haibara's footsteps. Suddenly she skidded to a halt, and I, running at full speed, attempted to desperately do the same.

"Watch-" She began to say, obviously stopping as she was going to do this. I never got to hear the rest of her sentence though, because I slammed into her from behind. We pitched forward and suddenly we were falling. I would have instinctively opened my wings if it weren't for the fact that just as I was going to I hit the ground.

We rolled down the steep incline, over the top of each other, and came to a hard stop on the bottom. I groaned, holding my head with one of my hands. As I did this she reached over and lightly covered my hand with hers. Footsteps, near the place where we had fallen. She pulled me back so that we were both pressed together. In a tree? I could only assume that we were hidden from his view.

For several heart pounding moments I thought he was going to come into the hollow. It didn't happen though, and he walked away. I was confident enough in my hearing to tell when he had left, and rubbed my hand against the scrapes. "Thank you...Haibara-san."

"Baka." She merely stated, sounding a little angry with me. "You could have said something, anything. That man was weak, it wouldn't have been too difficult to manipulate his guilt. Yet you didn't even try to move!"

"Oi, oi." I commented, then something about what she had said made me stop, and whip my head in her direction. Unfortunately since we were pressed against each other this resulted in our cracking heads. Rubbing my sore temple I glowered, "You followed me into the forest, didn't you?"

"You snuck away." Came the simple reply. What was I thinking earlier? That she could possibly have a human heart? I forced myself to calm down. She had, after all, just put herself in danger to save me from that man. There was silence for a moment when Haibara spoke once more, "We've fallen into a dried out river bed. We're under a log...in case you were wondering."

I stayed completely quiet. I wouldn't be rude, but I wasn't going to exactly talk to her either. Reluctantly though, after a few moments, I turned my head in her direction. "We should probably get back to the camp, ne Haibara-san? Shinichi will need to know about this, he'd wring my neck if he found out we found a murder victim and didn't let him know about it as soon as possible."

"He's still out there, Iggy-kun. And I would expect that the murderer is as well." Haibara spoke so calmly and surely that I couldn't help but blink. "Surely you did not think he did it? Not with him blubbering so pathetically and saying he didn't want to become a murderer?"

"He was covering the crime for somebody else then." I said, attempting to sound bored, "That doesn't matter. He'll figure out that we fell off the edge of that embankment shortly. If we don't get out of here he'll definitely find us, and he didn't seem to have as many qualms about shooting us while we were running away."

I made an attempt to move out, and as I did my hand brushed against her leg. She hissed with involuntary pain, and automatically attempted to jerk away from me. I froze, and then rolled my eyes in a mixture of irritation and amusement. Still, feeling something like dread I sighed and leaned over to her.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She said, her normally cool tones faltering for the briefest of instances. Oh, how amusing, the iceberg can be caught off guard as well as the Titanic huh? "Iggy-kun..."

Her tone had returned to normal at my name, sounding almost cold and warning. I rolled my eyes again, "I need to take a 'look' at your leg, alright Haibara-san? In a manner of speaking. Since I can't really look at anything..." I gently rolled the leg of her pants up, and she winced involuntarily as I did this. I felt my hands freeze as they brushed against the blood on her calf. "You're bleeding..."

"Yes, I can see that." She hissed through clenched teeth as I carefully probbed my fingers around the wound. I found myself lifting my head to give her a glare. I'm almost positive that I was spot on, since we were in such a small space in the first place. "You look like Kudou-kun when he's cornered a suspect, so accusing..."

There was faint amusement in her tone but I felt none. "You lied." I said flatly, "He hit you, didn't he? You got shot and you lied and told me you had tripped. Baka! Baka!"

"And if I had told you? What could have been done?" Haibara's words sounded almost smug, and if she hadn't been as scary as I thought she was I might have resorted to bashing her head in the side of the tree. Instead I seethed at her complete idiocy, and simmered in irritation at the fact that she was technically right.

"When exactly were you planning to inform me that you had a bullet in your leg?" I finally spat out, digging in my pocket for the switchblade I kept. Switchblades are incredibly handy things to keep with you, especially if you spend a lot of time in the outdoors. I cut a slit in the bottom of my shirt and tore a long piece of this off. I couldn't really take it off, on account of the fact that I wasn't exactly in the mood to explain the fact that I had a pair of wings.

Still, I cute most of the bottom off, and managed to create a suitable bandage. Haibara said and did nothing except let out a slightly involuntary hiss as I placed pressure on her wound. I wrapped the bandage around it tightly, and once that was done I cut the leg of her pants off. "Was that truly neccessary?"

"It would mess up the bandage if I pulled it back down." I replied coolly. Blood was all over my hands, which was bothersome because of my ability to sense colors. I rubbed it off on my pants the best I could, and then I narrowed my eyes. "Nnn, we gotta go don't we? Can you walk, Haibara-san?"

Her reply was to crawl out of our hiding spot and struggle to stand. I barely got out of it fast enough to catch her when she failed, and the only reason I managed to do that was because I was lucky enough to come up behind her. She swore venomously, and I felt something like shame spike beneathe her cold layer of emotion. It was a short moment of humanity for her though, as she tamped it down almost immediately. "No."

I could have tried walking with her, giving her support, but I doubted she could even do that. Besides, it might cause her to bleed out some more and the last thing I needed was for her to fall unconscious on me. It seemed the only thing I could do was give her a piggy-back, not something that I looked forward too. Piggybacks aren't the most comfortable things when you happen to have two wings on your back, it kind of hurts. Not to mention the fact that she was probably going to wonder what the bumps on my back were...

Still though, if she was bleeding as badly as she was now when we were running it was only a matter of time before the guy shooting at us, or even the original murderer, found us in our hiding spot. We had to move. Heaving a reluctant sigh I turned and crouched down. "Piggy-back ride?"

"No thank you." She said, how charming of her. It seemed as though she found the idea revolting or something, but I'm thinking it had little to do with me and a lot to do with pride. I rolled my eyes and made a vague gesture in the direction of what I assumed was the embankment we fell off of. Apparently I was wrong, "Other side, Iggy-kun."

"You know what I mean though." I huffed, feeling a flash of irritation. Really, why did this woman TRY to ruffle my feathers? There was a moments pause, where she was thinking about what would happen logically I assume. After a moment she gave a quiet resigned sigh and crawled onto my back.

It was easy to carry her, really. Remember kiddies, bird-kids tend to be stronger than the average man. I was easily able to carry Haibara on my back. Still, it was a bit strange. In the log we had been pressed up against each other, but at the moment I was actually CARRYING her. For some reason I found my face heating up a bit.

"You seem sure of where we are going." She said, after I paused to figure out which direction that would be. It's an instinctual thing, and I can't really even explain it myself. I knew we were headed in the right direction though...well, okay I THOUGHT we were. Unless, when we were running from the murderer, we ended up getting farther of track than I had anticipated.

"I think." I replied shortly. An awkward silence stretched between us, and for a moment I wondered if I should say something. I was just getting ready to when Haibara surprised me with another question. Somebody was talkative tonight.

"Why is it that you so strongly mistrust me and the professor...Iggy-kun." Haibara asked, and if I hadn't known her any better I would have thought there was a hint of hurt in her tone. Assuming I had misheard this I shrugged my shoulders and continued carefully walking down the middle of our dried up river.

"It's a prejudice thing, sorry." I said, apologizing slightly and giving her a crooked grin. "I promise I'll try to be a bit more open-minded, kind of already promised myself that earlier today actually. I never really cared for the sciency type. The people I've dealt with that enjoy that field have been somewhat...nnn, shall we say...psychotic?"

"Perhaps I am as well..." Haibara said, something like a cold laugh escaping her. "To go against Them. To become a traitor to Them, I must either be completely insane or suicidal. As for the professor...he is eccentric but I do not believe him to be psychotic, do you?"

"No." I replied, grimacing a bit. "He's a bit loony, but not in the way most of the guys I've had run-ins with are. I like how the experiments he has are able to benefit mankind without having to research how they would affect it. That's the kind of scientist I have met. The kind that forget that the lives they play with are real..."

"You would not have liked me much while I was one of Them." Haibara said, and let out a miserable chuckle. Something like guilt was in her tone, and I felt a strange pang of sympathy for her. "All the lives that were lost, or destroyed, because of the drug that I created..."

"Aw, it's not all bad, that drug of yours." I said with fake cheer. "After all, if it wasn't for that I probably would have gone to kick my friend's butt, so he is lucky. As it is, I think he could probably hand my tush to me right now. Not that I wouldn't try to take him down if I happened to stumble across his path mind you."

"Your friend should thank me." Haibara said softly.

"Alright, alright..." I said frowning. "My turn for a question, ne? Let's see...you don't like to show emotion. Yet when you're with the kids I feel you let loose a little, Shinichi too, in fact. Why is that?"

"Those kids..." Haibara chuckled under her breath, "I do not quite know myself. Perhaps it is just that they have a way of growing on you. It is all rather pointless in the end, me starting to care for anybody. Everything in the world dies, and I happen to be hiding from Death itself it seems..."

"Morbid." I said, screwing my nose up in disgust. I rolled my eyes and continued going, "Your turn."

"Hmmm...so many questions involving the strange Iggy-kun." Haibara said, and I could have sworn that she was teasing me for a little bit. So I gave her the satisfaction of scowling. "You have no last name...why is that?"

"Never needed one." I stated simply, which was completely true. I could tell she wasn't satisfied with my answer but I pushed forward with my own question now. "What's your real name? I know Shinichi's, obviously, but I haven't been told yours."

"Miyano Shiho." Haibara said, "You may call me Shiho, in private of course, if you like Iggy-kun. You must get tired of using Japanese formalities so often."

I was stunned, she had just given me permission to call her by her first name. Her REAL first name, no less. Strangely enough I was actually a little happy about that. I turned and gave her a wry grin, "Oh? So does this mean that I can call you 'Ai' anywhere else?"

"Do what you like, American." She replied, though her tone was a little gentler than usual. It wouldn't have even been perceptible to anybody else I think, except maybe somebody as intuitive as Shinichi. The snapping of a twig suddenly alerted us both, though I continued walking as though I hadn't heard. Shiho tensed, and whispered, "Behind us."

"I know." I replied shortly. I strained my ears and added, "Not the same guy as before. This person walks faster, but I've got a bad feeling. I don't think whoever is following us is friendly, do you? Sorry about this, Shiho-san, but I'm probably going to have to drop you."

"What are you-" She began, but I was already letting go of her. She hit the ground behind me a little hard, and I spun around in the same movement and ran in the direction of our pursuer. I heard her swear, "Iggy-kun! What are you doing!?"

Honestly? I didn't have a clue. I just knew that if that person followed us any further we were as good as dead. I wasn't about to let them get the jump on us either. My tactic must have startled whoever was following us just as much as it did Shiho. The person stumbled a bit, out into what would have been the open. (If I could see)

I caught up to them at that moment, gauging the way the person turned by the sound of their feet in the gravel. My hand shot up, and grabbed for the right wrist. I knew, in that instant, that I was fighting somebody female. So I had been right, the person following us wasn't the same as the one before. In fact, it was probably the original murderer.

She was holding something in her hand, but I soon fixed that. While holding the top of her wrist firmly in one hand, I shoved up with the other. The arms in her bone snapped, and she screamed in pain. The weapon she had been holding fell to the ground, and I kicked it away from her. "Sorry, Onee-san."

Then the gun fired somewhere to my left.

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Shinichi wasn't exactly sure what had woken him up. He blinked, trying to make out the figures of the Detective Boys in the darkness. Something was off, or he wouldn't have woken up in the first place. In his sleepy state it took a moment longer than usual, but when he realized what it was all sleep vanished.

Iggy and Haibara had vanished. Shinichi blinked twice, wondering what possibly could have that particular pair missing at the same time. He knew that Iggy didn't like Haibara at all, and as far as he could tell Haibara didn't care too much for Iggy either. Shinichi laughed a little nervously to himself. _Oi, oi, they're not out in the forest fighting or something are they?_

Shinichi almost considered getting out of bed, but Haibara never responded well to his getting in her business. Iggy didn't either, as a matter of fact. The two had more in common than they both probably realized. Shinichi heaved a sigh and proceeded to curl up in his bed when...

The sound of a gun fired somewhere in the woods. Shinichi sat straight up, startling Ayumi, who had been sleeping nearby, into wakefulness. In turn Mitsuhiko and Genta also woke from their slumber. Shinichi felt worry start to gnaw at his gut, and a sense of foreboding descended on him.

_Gunfire? But it isn't hunting season..._Shinichi thought. He could have easily written it off as poachers, but with the group two heads short he couldn't afford to. Wordlessly he rolled out of his sleeping bag and slipped on his shoes.

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I really thought, for about two seconds, that I had been shot. I should have been, and most certainly would have been, if it wasn't for the fact that Shiho tackled me at the last instant. She cried out in pain as she did this, and I realized with a stab of worry that she'd been shot for the second time that night. Blood had already begun to seep from the wound in her shoulder.

"Satoshi-kun!" The woman gasped, sounding relieved. I pulled Shiho into a sitting position and turned my face in the direction of the person who had fired the gun. "Oh, Satoshi! You have come to rescue me! My knight in shining armor! Always there for me! You have done so well for me..."

"Sakura-chan..." The man choked, "You...you killed Chiziro...didn't you?"

"Oh yes." She said, as though she were thinking of having the unpleasant memory of smelling cheese or something. "She was rather pretty, ne? I had to get rid of her. Can't have any competition parading around my forest you know! Now then, we just have to get rid of the two little witnesses and we can live happily ever after. You would like that, ne, Satoshi?"

I grimaced a little. How shallow, truly as a motive for murder...because the woman was prettier than her? I heard Shiho mumble something about vanity being a sin. Lifting her voice she said, and surprised me by sounding utterly childlike, "Oji-san are you going to kill me and my friend? I don't want to die, I want to go home..."

"Me too!" I added, putting a little trembling in my voice. That wasn't as hard as I would have liked it, and I grabbed for Shiho's hand and squeezed it. "Please, Oji-san, don't kill us. We won't tell anybody what happened. Just let us go..."

"They're liars Satoshi! Don't you want to be with me forever? Kill the little brats and be done with it. Especially the boy! Wait, make him hurt, I think he's broken my arm Satoshi! You wouldn't let him go after hurting me, would you? Heroes don't let the villian get away unscathed!" Sakura stated.

"Dude has an awful taste in women..." I muttered darkly in English. In reality my heart was pounding. Things seemed pretty hopeless at the moment. I turned a grin in Shiho's direction, "Too bad, I guess you were right. Everything does die after all, Ai-chan..."

"Indeed, and I was just starting to realize how much I liked you." She replied. I blinked in surprise at that, her tone was still completely cold, and I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Really, why would you joke at a time like this? But I didn't understand what she could possibly mean if she WASN'T kidding.

"I'm so sorry...little boy...little girl..." The man choked, "Please Sakura, we don't have to kill them. Perhaps we could kidnap them and raise them as our own children?"

Uh...creepy much? But I guess he was just desperate to find a way of not killing us and pleasing that psychotic woman at the same time. Sakura snorted.

"Don't be such a baby, just do it." She stated, I decided that of all the murderers I had met, I definitely liked her the least. (If you could say that I liked any murderer at all really...) She laughed at something, I'm assuming it was the expression on Satoshi's face because of what she said next. "You love me, don't you? Then prove it."

"Love shouldn't have to be proved, Oji-san." I stated, surprised by how true that felt. "In fact, if it is love it'd be impossible to prove. Because real love is indescribable, and as such it is unprovable. Love is a thing of faith, you can't get facts on it."

"Satoshi!" The woman said, sounding alarmed.

"I can't do it Sakura-chan. They're just children...no, they're PEOPLE. As was Chiziro, and I can't allow...can't allow myself to take another person's life. I can't do that Sakura-chan." Satoshi choked on his own words and started to sob. Suddenly the woman was lunging for him, which I knew because I'd suddenly gotten kicked in the head as she went by.

"Weak man! Weak!" She cried, and I heard the click of the gun. "Say goodbye you brats!"

"Sakura no!" Satoshi screamed, and I heard him fall down to the ground. Sakura laughed, and I could hear her footsteps on the gravel as she danced away, though she hissed in pain because of her arm. I knew that she was going to shoot us, and I shut my eyes. It was done for.

Something whizzed passed my head, but it was much bigger than a bullet. I heard Sakura wheeze out in agony, and suddenly collapse to the ground. Footsteps sounded behind us, and I heard Shinichi's sigh. "Oi, oi, I had a bad feeling you two had somehow ended up getting yourselves into trouble."

"Wh-who are you?" Satoshi asked, falling down in the gravel.

I could hear the almost evil smirk that Shinichi had on his face when the shrunken detective replied, "Edogawa Conan, a detective."

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Apparently, when Shinichi had heard the gunshot in the woods he had woken Agasa up. The man was ordered to immediately call the police and an ambulance just in case, and to keep an eye on the Detective Boys, as Shinichi went into the woods to find us. Apparently it wasn't that hard of a task to pull off, what with our begging for our lives in such a childish way.

Needless to say, the camping trip was abruptly cancelled as Shiho was rushed to the hospital. The first gunshot wound had been to her calf, and the second through her shoulder. Between the two she had lost quite a bit of blood, luckily everything was fine and she wasn't in critical condition. Though I was...erm, a little worried about her.

Sakura was arrested for murder, and I was somehow able to lead the cops to the body of Chiziro. Shinichi's deducing skills weren't really needed fro this particular case, though I was having a hard time coming up with a reason for Sakura's broken arm. A kid my size shouldn't have the strength to do that.

Satoshi was arrested for attempted murder himself, having been the one who shot Shiho both times. It's strange to say, but I'm sorry that he was getting locked away. I also found myself marvelling at the fact that a man could hide a murder, even try to kill some kids, all because he was in love with somebody else.

I realized for the first time that it was a genuinely cold night, and I was shivering by the time we'd managed to get everything packed into Agasa's tiny car. It seemed that all of the drama was over, though I couldn't help but notice that Shinichi was staring at me. I could feel his eyes burning holes in the side of my head, so I turned my face in his direction and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oi, oi!" Genta said, sounding incredibly indignant. I felt a line of sweat go down the side of my head as he added, "What did I do to YOU Iggy? Kaa-san says that if you stick your tongue out at people it'll get taken away by the goblins and eaten!"

"I wasn't aiming for YOU..." I tried to explain, but Mitsuhiko was in my face in defense for his friend.

"It is very rude to stick your tongue out at others, Iggy-kun. One might even call it childish." Mitsuhiko added this last bit with a hint of reprimand in his tone. I felt myself sink down in my seat. _I appear to be a child, Mitsuhiko..._

"I thought you said you'd be nice on this trip!" Ayumi put in. I groaned and hit my forehead against the glass window. Shinichi snickered in the background, but I didn't dare glare in his direction. The scolding from my last misfire was still continuing. I heaved a sigh. This was going to be one long ride home.

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_**I hope this chapter was exciting enough for you!**_

_**It was tough doing the emotional bits with Haibara, and not making her OOC...**_

_**But I think I did okay! YAY! :3**_

_**As for her running while she was shot (in case you were skeptical or curious) adrenaline can often serve as something of a natural painkiller. **_

_**Next Chapter: The Flock comes to Beika! WOOHOO! **_

_**Review, please.**_


	9. A Nasty Cold and Some Suspicious Twerps

_Disclaimer:_

_I don't own it! _

_**So, I got a ton of new songs on my iPod.**_

_**Including the two Skillet Albums, Awake and Comatose...**_

_**In other words, I've got some muse. :3**_

_**Michelle(AKA Elena Forest undercover)- Lawl, it's like you're all secret agenty. X3 Thank you, I had a ton of fun with that last chapter! Fanart? ZOMFG! You should post those and give me the links, (just be sure to replace all the periods and backslashes with (dot) and (backslash) or I won't get nuffin') LAWL! Suggestions are awesome, and I appreciate that un'. You also may have inspired me on another thing. -grins- **_

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_Chapter Nine- A Nasty Cold and Some Suspicious Twerps_

"Haaa....haaa..." I tried to hold it in but failed miserably. The sneeze came out in a massive explosion, and I was lucky enough to smack my head on the nearby doorknob when I did it too. I sniffled and rubbed my forehead. "Owww..."

"Iggy-kun you sound awful..." Ran said, kneeling next to me and placing her hand on my forehead. I didn't just SOUND awful, but I felt it as well. I attempted to duck from underneath her hand but she had a pretty firm grip on my shoulder. "You're burning up Iggy-kun! I don't think that you should go to school today."

"But..." I coughed. I don't think I've ever had a cold as bad as this one before. In fact...I don't really get sick all that often. I've never felt so positively horrid just because of a cold. It felt like my head was being bashed in by a mallet, not to mention the fact that I was pretty sure somebody had poured acid down my throat as I slept. "Ran-neechan I HAVE to go...I need to know if Ai-chan is alright."

"The doctors have informed us that she's okay." Shinichi supplied, though I heard curiousity clear in his tone. Wondering why I was allowed to call her Ai perhaps? If he knew she gave me permission to call her Shiho he'd probably tip over in surprise or something. "They wouldn't let her go to school if she wasn't doing well."

"Conan-kun is right, Iggy-kun." Ran said gently. She guided me back to my bed, and to be completely honest with you I was loosing my will to fight. Sure, I wanted to see how Shiho was feeling after getting shot over the weekend but...Shinichi and Ran were right. I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to hide a cough. "The best thing for you is rest right now, going to school will only make you more ill."

"Ran-neechan and I will pick up some cough medicine for you on the way home after school, Iggy-kun." Shinichi added in a cheerful tone. If he was teasing me for being sick he was at a totally new all-time low. I would have glared, but I was too busy coughing to muster the strength.

I crawled under the covers of my futon and listened with only half an ear as Ran explained to Kogoro that I was sick. I shivered a little and wrapped the blankets closer to me. I've decided that I'd rather face twenty Erasers all alone then have a cold. Since I can actually physically harm Erasers when they make me miserable...

I sneezed again and moaned. Sleeping seemed the best option after all, and I don't think I'd ever felt so exhausted in my entire life. I was grateful to Ran and her gentle kindness, and even Shinichi with his practical suggestion of getting me medicine. I guess I was starting to like those guys more than I ever thought I could. Ran was kind of like a big sister to me, and Shinichi was...well, like a brother. Maybe that was my fever talking though.

**

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Maximum Ride was NOT very good at Japanese. She had discovered this the hard way, stumbling through the sentences and having several people laugh their arses off at her. By the third time she had asked somebody if they saw a tall teenager she was about ready to kick somebody's head in.

It didn't help matters that Angel was excelling at it, though that had a lot to do with her mind reading. Gazzy was doing better than Max, but not as well as Angel. Nudge was worse than Max was, accidentally calling a young man they passed an idiot because she had found the word amusing.

Dylan, however, seemed to have something built in his head that acted as a natural translator or something. He spoke as if he grew up learning Japanese. Max didn't know whether she was grateful for this little talent of his or severely annoyed by it. As for the final member of the Flock, Total, after the second person he spoke to had run screaming into traffic they had unaminously (discluding Total's vote) decided that Total should not bring too much attention to himself.

Of course this caused the little bird-dog to go into a great rant about how unfair life was for the poor wayward dog. Max was beginning to consider getting him a muzzle, however cruel that was, when Dylan pointed to a store window. "Hey, check this out..."

Max blinked and wandered over to the screen. They could hear the announcer, but it was in Japanese. They were talking WAY too quickly for Max to keep up, and while Angel was nodding her head Nudge, Gazzy, and Total seemed completely perplexed. "That's nice, mind translating it for us?"

Max shouldn't have sounded so mean, but Dylan didn't flinch. He merely blinked at her and repeated whatever it was the news announcer was saying in English. "She's saying that...: It has been more than a week since the rumor of an avian-human hybrid flying through the street and ending up in the play-yard of Teitan Elementary school. Police have discovered the bodies of the two eyewitnesses to this event. The police suspect it was a murder suicide..."

"Mmm, unless there is ANOTHER random bird-kid we've never met..." Max said, throwing her thumb over her shoulder in a gesture at Dylan who blinked. "Then I'm thinking this is the best lead we've got, it's what brought us here in the first place right? So we've got to go to...this...Teitan Elementary."

"We can ask the kids if they've seen anybody!" Angel piped up, but in that eerie kind of way that made everyone glance at her a little sharply. She tipped her head to one side and gave an angelic smile, "That's what we should do!"

* * *

Scotch frowned as he watched the young girl walk down the street. She was familiar, because every single member of the organization was on high alert for her. Shiho Miyano, codename, Sherry. Scotch would have never expected her to be in the form of a young girl, and it tied her to his test subject.

He couldn't have that. Scotch scowled furiously out the window. Sherry had vanished into the crowd by now, leaving Scotch to his own thoughts. He wished he could have written it off as a trick of the light, but he doubted that. Scotch was VERY observant. It was one of the reasons he had been recruited by the organization in the first place.

_But this...this is bad news._ He thought, his stomach churning with anxiety. There was no doubt, he'd been watching the blind bird-child for the last four days, discluding the day he vanished on some camping trip. Sherry was connected to him in some way, which was unsurprising if he really considered it. Sherry's job had been that prototype poison, and there was a small matter discussed in one of the files on it that stated one of the rats under study had not been killed but shrank somehow. _So Sherry's drug has made my subject small...dammit..._

The subject would be killed now, if Scotch did the proper thing and alerted those higher than him of Sherry's current existance. Scotch didn't want that, he NEEDED his subject. He had wanted to have one of 'those' as his subject for such a long time, he couldn't just let it slip from his fingers! It was stupid to go against the organization...

But his obsession was stronger than his will to survive. Besides, he had a plan...

**

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**

Angel wanted to find Iggy almost as bad as Gazzy. It made her unhappy to see her brother so upset, besides they couldn't afford to keep loosing members of their Flock. Angel frowned to herself. She didn't dare say it, but she kind of felt like this could have been Max's fault. Fang leaving was quite a blow, true, but Max should have been paying more attention to Iggy.

The youngest member of the Flock heaved a slightly tired sigh, and slipped into the schoolyard. Max silently followed her, but Angel knew that the 'leader' of the group was incredibly irritated with her for not waiting. At the moment Angel probably could have cared less. Iggy was priority right?

Sweeping her large blue eyes across the playground, she spotted a knot of children who had completely ceased in their play to stare at the group of newcomers. Something told Angel that this would be a good place to start, so she headed in their direction. Angel cast her mind out to feel the new people up.

It was an interesting enough group. There were five of them, all around the same age as Angel herself. Two of the five seemed to stand out because they appeared to be a little...oddly enough, more mature than the rest of the group. The other three were two boys and one little girl.

"Hello!" Angel said cheerfully in Japanese. The group blinked at her in surprise as she added, "I'm Angel, the people behind me are Ride Maximum, Gazzy, Nudge, Dylan and Total."

"Oh-oh..." One of the other three children stammered and stood up quickly. "N-nice to meet you! I'm Mitsuhiko, this is Genta-kun and Ayumi-chan. The other two are Haibara Ai and Conan-kun."

Mitsuhiko, the boy who had spoken with her, was a little tall for his age and actually pretty gangly. He would have actually fit in rather nicely with their little group, if he had wings on his back that is. His hair was dark brown, and it was brushed in a style so that it hung over his eyes without exactly covering them. His face was dotted with freckles.

Genta, as he had introduced, was even taller than Mitsuhiko. However he was not in the least bit gangly, but a bit on the large side. He didn't appear as if he was one of those people that put too much thought into anything at all. He also had a baldspot on the side of his head, and seemed to be dressed a little sloppily compared to the other children of the group.

Ayumi was the little girl out of the original three. She was rather cute. The girl had dark blue eyes that were bright with a mixture of excitement and curiousity as she regarded Angel. Her hair was brown, and cropped short so that it hung just below her ears. Angel could peg her for a bit of a girly-girl almost instantly, not that this was a bad thing. The child radiated energy.

As for the other two...the first was Haibara Ai, the only person Mitsuhiko had addressed with both a first and last name. This was the only other girl in the 'group', and Angel didn't really know WHAT to think of her. It was strange to see somebody her age look so coldhearted, but this girl managed to do it. Her hair was a very pale shade of reddish brown, in fact it was on the verge of being blonde if you asked Angel. Especially compared to Ayumi's hair. The girl was standing as though her leg bothered her, and her eyes were narrowed with cold cunning in their direction.

Conan was the final child in the group. There was something akin to suspicion flickering in his extremely intelligent blue eyes. Angel found herself on the verge of squealing, a rare thing for her these days to be sure. As far as 'cute' went with little kids this boy seemed to command it. Though he seemed a bit on the nerdy side, it was really working for him. He was wearing a very formal looking outfit, pale blue shorts with a white shirt and a blue jacket. He even had a little red bowtie. His eyes were hidden behind some large framed glasses, and his hair was black and hung in his blue eyes a bit in the front.

Angel automatically began to cast her mind out among the children. First was Mitsuhiko, who was looking nervously at the group. _'What is this now? Have we gotten ourselves into more trouble? Nothing the Detective Boys cannot handle!' _Angel blinked, wondering what THAT meant. Now that she was curious she switched to the boy called Genta.

She half expected to hear crickets, but instead she heard something else. It made her want to giggle a little in amusement, _'Oi, oi, these are strange people...aw, maybe they have some food or something! I haven't eaten since lunchtime and I'm STARVING!'_

Angel easily got to the little girl who was blinking at them, _'New friends? Oh, that one girl is so pretty...oh no! What if Conan-kun thinks she's pretty too! What would I do!? She's so much prettier than I am!'_ Ayumi's eyes darted over to the boy with the glasses at this thought.

Much to Angel's surprise, and intense irritation, she couldn't hear anything from the girl called Ai. It was as though she had erected some sort of shield in defense. Angel suspected that it was done on accident, but she still found it incredibly annoying not to be able to know what it was the girl was thinking.

Angel was about to look at Conan, but the boy interrupted by clearing his throat. Angel blinked in surprise as he stepped forward with a friendly smile and grabbed for Max's hand. "Onee-san, what are you doing in this schoolyard? It's only for elementary students, ne? And you're not from around here either...are you?"

Dylan quickly translated, and spoke before Max really had a chance to answer the little boy. "Actually we're looking for somebody. A friend of ours, and we thought he might be in this area. Maybe you guys have seen him?"

"If we haven't seen him then we could look for him for you!" Ayumi said. Angel watched with a mixture of curiousity as Conan slammed the palm of his hand against his forehead. "We're really good! We're-..."

"Here it comes..." Conan muttered, rolling his blue eyes.

"THE DETECTIVE BOYS!" Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi all practically screamed this while jumping around Ai and Conan. Angel felt something like amusement at this, and kind of wished that she could play with them sometime. She shook it off quickly though. She had to focus on becoming leader.

"We're looking for our friend, Iggy." Gazzy said, and even before Dylan translated this into Japanese, Angel noticed the kids all look up. Ai and Conan shared a quick glance, probably not realizing that Angel had spotted them. Dylan quickly translated.

"You mean-" Mitsuhiko began but Ai cut him off with a tone of voice that was as cold as a glacier and filled with warning.

"We know no person of that name. I apologize..." She said.

"What are you talking about Haibara?" Genta said blankly, blinking in confusion, "Conan-kun's little brother is named Iggy, right?"

"B-but they wouldn't be talking about my little brother!" Conan said swiftly, laughing in a way that made Angel narrow her eyes. "Haibara-san DID slightly bend the truth, but the only Iggy I know is younger than I am..."

_'Technically not a lie, since Iggy-kun is younger than me.'_ Angel heard the thought so clearly that it startled her for a moment. She scanned the area, expecting a teenager to show up, but then realized with a jolt that the thoughts were coming from CONAN. _'Oi, oi, Iggy-kun won't be very happy with us about this but I think that he would rather meet these people on his own terms. Besides, we don't know if they are friend or foe...'_

They thanked the children and walked away. Angel frowned as they started to walk off, she wanted to figure out more about Conan. Besides, he had said something as if he were HIDING that particular Iggy. It had her curiousity, most definitely. Nudge heaved a tired sigh, "I thought we were close too...it is weird though, that the one place we look would have another boy named Iggy."

"Too weird." Max said simply, and Angel smiled to herself. "Those kids were hiding something, probably because they didn't know who we were though. I'm almost certain that they know where Iggy is."

"So what do you propose we do?" Total asked, lifting his brown eyes to look at Max.

The grin the leader of their group gave him was almost sadistic. Angel sighed to herself, sometimes she was afraid Max liked to do mischevious things just a little too much. "Why, we spy on them of course."

* * *

I woke up with a groan. Did I say that I felt horrible earlier? Well I lied, NOW I felt horrible. I was officially going through the worst cold to ever have infected a blind bird-kid. I kicked the covers off of myself, and shuddered instantly. No, better not do that. I wrapped the blanket around me and stumbled out of my room.

"Oji-san?" I asked, listening to the television and the heavy snoring. I heaved a tired sigh. Great, I felt like crap and Kogoro was sleeping like a baby. I half wanted to go over their and sneeze in his face or something. I coughed hard, and I wondered what time it was. The only way I would even be able to remotely guess would be to go outside.

With a sigh, which ended up making me cough even more, I shuffled my feet across the floor. The door was easy enough to open, and I had more or less made my way down the stairs in a dignified manner so that I could stand in the doorway. I really hated the fact that my nose was plugged up because it made it harder for me to smell things.

I snuffled, and lifted my face around to try and gauge where the sun was. My fever was throwing me off though. I coughed into my hand and wrapped myself up even tighter in my blanket. It was then that I heard somebody's footsteps nearby. I turned my head away to cough.

"What are you doing out here...little boy?" It was a man. Some dude who was probably wondering why a kid that was about to tip over due to fever was standing in the doorway like a moron. "You seem as though you are very ill."

"I'm okay..." I croaked, and stumbled. He caught me, and just as I was shaking off the embarassment of that I noticed something. Sensed it really, through my ability. That the man's clothing was black, inky black. For some reason that made my heart lurch sickeningly. Black, like the syndicate.

Reasonably it could be said that the organization wasn't the only group of people in the world that would wear black. There was just something I FELT...I knew instantly that I was in trouble. I tried to move, but my fever had weakened me more than I had anticipated. The man grabbed my arms very tightly and pulled me inside the building, and then something was pressed against my mouth. I'm not sure what it was exactly, all I can say for sure was that it was soaked in chlorophorm. I passed out.

**

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**

Scotch was giddy, as he carried the sleeping boy wrapped up in a blanket into the taxi. When the driver looked at him questioningly Scotch had smiled at him and said in a very convincingly tender tone, "I just picked my son up from my ex-wife's home. I think he has a cold, and he was so tired that I couldn't bring myself to wake him up."

Of course the sucker fell for it, even though the boy's hair was strawberry blond. It didn't matter. As the man dropped him off at Scotch's home the man giggled to himself. He almost skipped the stairs two at a time.

Finally, finally he had his subject. All thoughts of Sherry had been all but banished at this moment, he had things to rig up. Scotch put the shrunken child in the special chair, clicking the gauntlets that would hold him into it shut on his wrists. It did, admittedly, look as though it were some sort of torture device.

Oh well, that hardly mattered. Scotch giggled as he pulled the hypodermic needles out from their drawer, and sat in the chair opposite the sleeping boy. Now all he had to do was wait. Every now and then the silence was broken by his giggling. He was just so happy that things had finally gone his way.

* * *

_**So Max knows that the kids are lying...**_

_**AND Angel knows that Conan has a teenager for a brain! **_

_**Plus the fact that Iggy's been freakin' kidnapped! ZOMFG!**_

_**What'll we do!?**_

_**You? Review...**_

_**And I'll update as quickly as possible. :3**_


	10. Getting In and Out of Traps

_Disclaimer:_

_Do you know what fun I would have if I owned this? -cackles-_

_**My muse for DC is extra high lately...**_

_**-points- I think it's because of that fanfiction in my favorites, A Witch's Apprentice.**_

_**I seriously suggest you DC fans try and read it. I LOVE the way the author writes, and the way they capture the characters is something I envy very much. :3**_

_**Only, if you do read that don't compare it to mine. -.-u Or else you won't want to read my story anymore. -coughs-**_

_**Also, I've decided that if this Fanfiction were to be an anime then the themesong would be Hero by Skillet.**_

_**The end theme would be Corps of Corpses by Hawthorne Heights.**_

_**Elena Forest- Yeah, I looked at those pictures! I'm so blown away by the fact that somebody likes something I put together so much they'll draw and write stuff for it. It's severely flattering. :3**_

_**EmPhantom- Don't feel bad, choir is awesome so I don't mind you missing a few reviews! -cackles- Just come back for more, or I might go in a corner and cry a little bit...-.-u**_

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_Chapter Ten- Getting In and Out of Traps_

The first thing that came to me when I woke up, unfortunately, was taste. I grimaced, groaned, and tried to spit in a desperate attempt to get the foul whatever-it-was out of my mouth. "Why..." I said, coming to even further. My head felt heavy, and I was having a hard time thinking clearly, "Does it taste as though I liked an Eraser on the cheek? And I'm not talking about somebody's face...blech."

"Chlorophorm often does leave a taste in the mouth after has been used." Somebody, the man who had been kind enough to drug me, scared the beejeezus out of me. I was just beginning to slow my now racing heart as he tapped me on the forehead twice with his fingers. "I am Scotch. It is an honor to finally have you."

"Well then, Scotch-san." I said, shaking off the cobwebs that clung annoyingly to the corners of my mind. Stupid drugs, I hate them. They make you all dizzy and unable to do much. "If it is so much of an honor I am quite flattered, REALLY, however I don't take too kindly to being kidnapped...now if you'd be so kind as to release me..."

He roared with laughter, and I felt irritation spike. "So it is true what the magazines say, the blind one is the sarcastic one. Perhaps this is your way of hiding your insecurities, ne? I am sure it is. Tell me then, Subject, how bad do you feel that you are the only one of your absurd little group who has what can be considered a disability?"

Okay, what a creep. The words themselves didn't bother me so much as the tone he used when he said them. As if he were speaking to somebody who is unable to even compare to him. I would have liked to adopt some of Shinichi's colorful Japanese swear-words, but the coughing that exploded from my chest barred me from that. All that came out that was even remotely intelligible was, "Jerk..."

"Oi, oi! Calm yourself there, Subject!" Scotch said, ruffling my hair. I jerked in my chair, belatedly realizing that both my wrists and my feet were clasped into the seat I was on. I blinked in surprise, "Restraints. I'm afraid that the experiments done on you previously will make you less than willing to undergo the treatment I have selected you for."

Fear coiled in my stomach. Of all the things in the world, why did it have to be experimentation? It was one of the few things that actually terrified me. The adrenaline was beginning to work it's way through my system, waking me from my drug induced stupor. I was feeling clearer by the second. "So you want to use me as a guinea pig like every other schmo' in the world?"

"You say this so bitterly. Yet science has made you who you are today, Subject." The man spoke almost lovingly, and I twitched as he leaned over my shoulder and ran a finger along the base of my wings. If I wouldn't have risked breaking a bone in said appendages I would have slammed back in the chair just to crush his hand. "It has made you stronger than the average man, even in this size. Faster than the average person. Not to mention the sheer joy of flight...you, you all have great strength."

"Great, another psycho with an avian-hybrid complex." I said, trying to hide the fact that I was about ready to pass out in fear. Scotch, much to my apprehension, began to rifle through what must have been a nearby drawer. I coughed, and because of that when I asked my question my panic was reflected in my words, "What are you doing?"

"Fear not, Subject. You are valuable to me. I would not do something that would kill you." Scotch almost purred this, and all I could think of was that creepy sounding guy off of that Lord of the Rings and how it was obsessed with the ring. I half expected the guy to start stroking me and calling me precious..."I almost forgot about it, silly me. We must be hygenic after all."

He rubbed something cool against my head, and even with a clogged up nose I could smell the rubbing alcohol. I wrinkled my nose in distaste and tried to jerk my head away. "What do you mean, hygenic..." Dawning slammed into me. What did doctors do before giving you a shot. As Scotch's hand went for my head I jerked away, "No! No way in HELL!"

"Shh, Subject, calm yourself." Scotch said, firmly holding my head in his hand. I felt the prescence of the needle hanging over me and thrashed my head. Scotch heaved what I can only describe as a very irritated sigh. "You are just making trouble for yourself. If you don't knock it off I'll have to inject this straight into your eyes, do you want that?"

I froze, confusion flashing through me. Say WHAT now? A shot...in the EYE? A shudder tore it's way through me and I squeezed my eyes shut. What else could I do? I felt the prick of a needle and would have jerked away again had it not been for the fact that he had my head in a vice-like grip. I felt it when he pressed the plunger down.

**

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**

Shinichi was walking down the street, holding Ran's hand of course. They had stopped to pick up cough syrup for Iggy, something they had forgotten almost halfway home. On account of that they had to turn back, and it was when they did this that Shinichi noticed them.

_Following us._ He thought to himself grimly. It was the group of kids from earlier. He didn't think they knew that he had spotted them, and he was careful not to draw attention to the fact that he KNEW. He knew what they were after, Iggy. His new friend, and another person who was shrunken. Shinichi didn't know about these people, but the fact that they were sneaking around after him made him suspicious.

Still, he had to be sure. "Ran-neechan? Earlier Ayumi-chan, Genta-kun and Mitsuhiko-kun all invited me to go play in the park. I said no at first because I felt bad for Iggy-kun but then..." Here Shinichi wrinkled his nose in the most childlike way he could manage and said, "Iggy-kun isn't much fun to play with when he's all sick."

Shinichi was careful enough, of course, to say the words in a tone that wouldn't make Ran suspicious but would leave his followers unable to overhear. Not from where they were, behind some magazine stand. Shinichi snorted, _Really if they wanted to conceal themselves they shouldn't have stayed together as a group._

"Mmm...it would probably actually be better for your little brother if you were to go play for awhile. Are you sure you can go alone Conan-kun?" Ran asked, worry clear in her tone. Shinichi gave her a quick thumbs up and darted acrossed the street.

As he thought, the group followed him. Shinichi smirked to himself. So he wasn't going to make it easy for them to find the Agency. _Let's play a little game of tag, shall we?_

* * *

Right between the eyes. Really, I'm getting about sick of things being put there. Guns, and now needles too. What's next, some guys gonna try and hit me in the head with a hammer? Knock on wood...

Pressure was beginning to build painfully in my skull, and I felt a rage at the man flicker and mingle with my fear. Stupid needles. Stupid kidnappers. Stupid chlorophorm. It was beginning to feel as though I had a slushie and drank it in like two seconds. There was a distinct cold sensation to the pain.

That soon changed. I would rather have a random brainfreeze over the sudden BURNING that started up. It felt like everything on my face was on fire. I bit back a groan, and instead I ground out, "What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?"

"Wait for it..." Scotch said, and I flinched as...something bright was flashed in my eyes. Something bright that I could SEE! "YES! Yes! It's working! It is working isn't it? I know it's a little painful, Subject, but bear with it. You're going to be able to see in a few moments now..."

_Wh-what? _I couldn't even manage to get the words out. See? Impossible...no way. I...I was blind. But every second that passed the brighter the light got, and when he pulled it away I saw his face. He was younger than I had expected somehow. Something like fascination sparked in me.

"You...this is what you wanted?" I stammered, marvelling at my surroundings. Not exactly what I'd have liked to see first thing, but hey, beggars can't be choosers right? Still, I felt my eyes narrowing, and tried to force my excitement down. "There's a catch. There is always a catch."

"Very good, Subject!" The man laughed, and I tried not to become fascinated in the way it reflected in his eyes. Did laughter always do that, or was it only with the crazy people. "This drug requires injections daily. It repairs the damage done to your eyes by utilizing your speedy metabolism. However it only lasts for twenty-four hours...or so I assume."

I was trying very hard to listen to this, you see there was this very fascinating shiny thing in the corner. Hey! How many shiny things do you think I've seen in my life? I turned my gaze to his reluctantly, "So basically I need the shots to stay seeing right?"

"Exactly!" The man smiled, "And I'll give them to you...on one condition."

See, I told you, there is always a catch. What would I have to give in return? Become the guy's guinea pig? ...I would have done it. In a heartbeat. I wouldn't care how much it hurt in the end. I would give almost ANYTHING to be able to see. To be able to do what I was doing at that moment in some guy's very dusty and boring basement. "That would be?"

"Tell me where Sherry is...where Shiho Miyano lives."

**

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**

There was always this feeling that came when They were near. She had been feeling it off and on for the last few days, and had righteously been on edge because of this. So when Shiho felt the strong stab of foreboding she was less than surprised. Something big was going down.

She had no way of ever explaining it, because she didn't know what was up with it herself. She just always kind of...knew. Perhaps it was because of the fact that the syndicate was the only thing she was truly afraid of. That, and maybe even that blind nuisance that had recently joined the cast of her life.

Shiho frowned at the thought of the strawberry blonde boy. There was something odd about Iggy. A LOT of somethings, actually. Shiho probably knew that better than anybody. Anytime Kudo was alone with her he would never SHUT UP about the kid. Iggy seemed to have hijacked all conversation between the two shrunken teens.

Still, she couldn't say she would want anything to happen to him. That's what she felt, that Iggy was somewhere near Them. They would hurt him, kill him probably. Shiho hated the way the thought made her heart hurt. No, no. It couldn't have been so easy. She couldn't have let somebody in, and he hated her besides.

* * *

I blinked, once. Well, that was that. The offer. The thing is, that wasn't the only thing I was being offered. It wasn't just him saying, 'Here ya go Iggy, you can see for the rest of your life, just hand your pals over on a silver platter.' That is something easy to turn down. You see, if I said no I would be killed. We're dealing with a ruthless organization, remember?

Still, even knowing I'd be killed the answer was more than simple to decide. No, no, and a thousand times no. I would never, ever, give Shiho to this bastard. Why? Because I owed her, for one. Because leading them to her would lead them to Shinichi as well, which would suck cause I like him. And because I don't want her blood on my hands...

"What if I don't know a person by that name?" I asked, adopting Shiho's habit of keeping her voice completely emotionless. I seemed to have caught him off guard. What is it with people and assuming that they know what others think?

"Do not lie to me, you are connected with her and I know it. I saw." The man smirked at my look of astonishment. Something that irritated me greatly. Basically I get to see so the dude can taunt me with his stupid facial expressions. How wonderful. I grit my teeth in rage as he ruffled my hair, "You must realize that I care for you Subject."

That was too bad. It meant he knew Shiho was out there. I heaved a tired sigh. "Why is it that the bad guy is always so sure that us good people will be willing to give the lives of others up for our own happiness? I'm not perfect. I know it for a fact. There are times that I'm certain I'm a burden on the Flock, but you know what?" I grinned at him. It wasn't a happy smile, but mocking, "I don't care how much of a burden to anybody I am, there is no way in hell I'd even give up a stranger's life for sight."

Scotch frowned, clearly not understanding the logic behind what I said. That's because there really ISN'T logic behind helping people, that's the beauty in it. "Subject this is a dangerous path you are walking. You know of us, and that is strictly forbidden unless you are with us."

"Then I guess you better kill me, because I'm against you." I said. Maybe it would have been smarter to lie, but at this point I was kind of in the martyr stage. Self-sacrificing and all that jazz. That didn't change the fact that my heart was suddenly hammering in my chest. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking, and I could only hope that Scotch wouldn't notice.

"But I don't WANT to kill my Subject...I can use you yet." He said, frowning. I didn't much like the sounds of THAT at all. Scotch snapped his fingers in front of my face and I blinked at him skeptically, "Ah yes! That'll work!"

Suddenly he was digging through the drawers, and pulling out bottle after bottle. They were small, and filled with some kind of bright blue liquid. I marveled at them as they caught the light. Rainbow colors flickered inside, and Scotch grinned at my look. I snapped my mouth closed and looked away. No way would I let this guy think he had done me a favor, even if it was temporary.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Your medicine, of course." Scotch said, as if it were obvious. He placed them into a case and clasped it shut. As he stood up he held up a key between us and my eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, that's right, I'm letting you go. I see that I can't persuade you here, so here's the deal. I've given you enough of that to last two weeks. Call it...a free trial. If you should change your mind simply leave me a discreet message somewhere...mmm...a code of some sort...ah! Leave a note that says there are bears in the woods on a bulletin near here."

This was probably the most idiotic bad guy in the whole wide world. I felt my muscles coil, ready for action. Scotch bent down and unlocked my right hand. I waited patiently as he unlocked my other hand, and then my feet. It was when the last restraint fell off of my right ankle that I slammed the heel of my hand into his chin.

"Baka." I smirked as he crashed to the floor looking dazed. "Never in a million years. Keep your codes to yourself. Thanks for the freedom though, Scotch-sama..."

I spoke the last bit with as much sarcasm as I could muster. I jumped over his head and paused at the door to the basement. That briefcase, with all of those bottles...I scowled at myself and scooped it up. "I'll be taking this too. I've got a friend that might be interested in it, and I'd like to know what's with it since you stabbed me in the face with the crap."

With that I turned and left the basement. I wrenched open the front door, and burst into a fit of coughing. Cripe, getting to Agasa's was going to be tough with me in this condition. I heard a moan and stumbling behind me. Glancing over my shoulder I spotted Scotch clinging to the doorframe of his basement and panting hard. "Subject, you're making a grave error."

"Yeah, I've never been too good at common-sense." I replied, and snapped my wings wide. With an arrogant smirk I took to the air, leaving the psychotic bastard behind. I knew by the look of dismay on his face what he was thinking. There was no use trying to follow me when I was in the sky, he'd never keep up.

**

* * *

**

Shinichi glanced over his shoulder for the third time. They were still there, trying to be discreet. Shinichi straightened and made his way around the park, into the bushes. It wasn't hard, he acted as though something had been interesting to him. After digging through the bushes Shinichi managed to come up behind the group.

"Where did he go?" One of them, Shinichi remembered her being introduced as Maximum (what an odd name...), was frowning as she looked around the tree. She spoke in English, but since Shinichi had spent time in the States before he naturally knew the language. Shinichi smirked to himself and stepped out.

"Whatchya doin'?" He chippered in her native language. Every one of them, but the youngest Shinichi noticed, stiffened and whirled around to face him. Shinichi inwardly chuckled at the looks of surprise on their faces. He switched back to Japanese and grabbed Dylan's hand and smiled up at him, "Are you coming to play in the park too, Dylan-niichan?"

"Uh..." The boy looked at a loss for what to say. _'Of course, you can't exactly say that you've been following me around now, can you?'_ Shinichi thought, thoroughly enjoying the fact that he had managed to corner the culprit once more.

"Oooor..." Shinichi widened his eyes, "Are you following me like the sneaky badguys that Oji-san sometimes chases do? You're not trying to take me away are you? That would make my little brother very, very sad..."

"Does it bother you?" The littlest, Angel, was suddenly uncomfortably close to Shinichi. Shinichi blinked in surprise, confused by the question and a little caught off guard by her closeness. Angel leaned in closer and whispered, "Does it bother you, Conan-kun?"

"Wh-what?" He stammered, "You mean you guys following me, ne?"

"No...I mean does it bother you to be as smart as a teenager but stuck hanging around all those little kids?" Angel's bright blue eyes were on Shinichi's and he felt a little cold. How had she managed to figure out THAT? Talk about a little creepy. Angel tipped her head to one side and a smile started to form on her features. Those blue eyes were growing wider and there was something about them that had Shinichi frozen in place. He couldn't explain it, but something like a fog settled over his head. "Now, would you be kind enough to take us to Iggy, Conan-kun?"

He only half heard his own dreamy assent to the request.

* * *

_**Gah! I hope this chapter isn't as short as it seems...**_

_**I worked pretty hard on it. X3**_

_**Reviews are always loved. **_

_**Again, I'm in the last few paragraphs of the final chapter...**_

_**So it'll be up tomorrow! :3**_


	11. Special Guests Galore

_Disclaimer:_

_-wishes on a star- Do I own it? Dang it, no...-scowls and tries more wishing-_

_**I have two special guests popping up in this chapter! -cackles evilly-**_

_**I'm excited about both of them, as they are two of my faves from both series! Whose comin'? You'll have to read to see! X3**_

_**Elena Forest- Awz, I'm so glad that you liked my chapter! -waves little victory flag- Regarding the Flock...erhem, please don't kill me but it may be just a bit longer till Iggy ACTUALLY runs into them. Since it's kind of one of the climaxes I have to make sure it's a good scene. :3 Missing commas? Oh, heheh, probably because I typed that up so quickly. -is brick'd-**_

_**Em Phantom- Yay! I'm glad you liked that scene. Scotch is kind of fun to write...probably because he's insane. Why is it so fun for me to write crazy people? -zones out thinking of this- Eh, anywaaays...Angel. Thank you so much! I kept writing her and thinking, 'Is this what she'd say?' Honestly I don't care for her character all that much, so it was kind of hard for me to peg how she would act. I'm glad I pulled it off. X3**_

_**HEEEY! Look, both of your usernames start with 'E'! -is amused-**_

**

* * *

**

_Chapter Eleven- Special Guests Galore_

Wanna know something that was slightly irritating? Being able to see actually made it HARDER for me to fly. Why? Because I have a short attention span to begin with, and I kept forgetting where I was because something would catch my eye. By the time I finally landed on Agasa's roof I was covered in scratches, and there was a twig in my hair. I pulled it out and twirled it around in fascination before tossing it over my shoulder.

I had some important business to attend to. And as fascinating as that lovely stick was...

I scrambled down from the roof, and landed on the sidewalk a little ungracefully. Ungracefully, as in I ended up on my hind-end. Lucky me. As I stood up I rubbed the sore spot a little grumpily, and just as I turned to ring the doorbell the door swung open. I blinked in surprise. "Shiho-san..."

"I-Iggy-kun." She said, for once she sounded completely off guard. I only just barely caught the look that flashed through her eyes though. Cripe she was good. In a deadpan she added, "What are you doing here? Kudou-kun said that you were ill."

She was...pretty...I don't know if it's weird to say, since we're technically little kids right now, but she was a very beautiful person. Her hair was a fascinating color, I couldn't quite decide whether it was brown, blonde, gold or some kind of pale red. I found myself wondering if I could tell by feeling it, which was a slightly strange and rather embarrassing urge.

Shiho seemed to notice my daze, and she moved slightly to the side. I automatically followed her with my eyes before blinking myself out of my embarrassing trance, "Got distracted, sorry...what was it you were saying again? I was sick?" I coughed, and Shiho blinked at me, "Whoever said I wasn't?"

"You can see." It wasn't a question, but a statement. I blinked at her. Was it really that obvious? I recalled the way I stared at her and mentally winced. Uh...yeah.

"Only temporarily." I said with a grimace, "Which is actually why it is incredibly important that I speak with you, and I probably shouldn't be carrying this stuff around in my pockets. It's a miracle that they didn't break on the fly over here."

"Fly?" Shiho asked, her tone patronizing as I hurried passed her and began to empty my pockets of the bottles. As she spoke this word I tensed my shoulders and inwardly cursed myself. What a stupid, stupid thing to do! Let it spill like that? Can anybody hand me the 'Idiot of the Year' award please, I seem to have misplaced it.

"Uh-uh..." I scrambled to think of something, "You know, like flight. I ran so fast that it was like flying! Haven't you ever heard something like that before, Shiho-san? Ehehehe..."

Judging by her suspicious glare she wasn't in the least bit convinced. Still, she was immediately distracted by what I had placed on the tabletop. Her scientific curiosity must have one out, deduction was Shinichi's thing, and she picked up one of the small bottles. Her eyes narrowed slightly, "Is this what has temporarily restored your sight? Where did you get it?"

"That's what we need to talk about...erm, Shinichi should be here though too." I frowned, rubbing my chin slightly. Shiho lifted her gaze from the small bottle and quirked a thin eyebrow at me. I was trying not to get fascinated by facial expressions. People with sight tend to take for granted the things they get to see every day, and it bothered me to know that this would be gone.

"Last I heard he was trying to loose those people that were following him." Shiho said in a bored tone. She flipped open her cellphone, and began to look for messages. I watched in a semi-transfixed state as the light lit up the numbers on the screen. Something like amusement flashed in her eyes but she snapped it shut, "They were looking for you."

"Eh? Strangers looking for me?" I said, feeling nervous. Was it the syndicate? If they were following Shinichi around and he got caught I'd never forgive myself. I stifled a cough and blinked, "It wasn't...you know, Them was it?"

Shiho rolled her eyes, "Kudou-kun wouldn't be so stupid as to...you know what, never mind. He would." She heaved a tired sigh and I snorted in laughter at this. Yeah, I can imagine Shinichi being an idiot for the sake of getting back to normal. But then, I almost would too, and I wasn't living agonizingly close to the girl I loved without being able to tell her that I was okay every day. "No, they were merely some highschoolers and children..."

My eyes stretched wide. The Flock. I felt something like excitement, "Quick, text Shinichi and tell him to bring them here! They're my family! Gah, yes! I'm so glad that I can finally get THAT off of my chest...I bet Max'll wanna kill me though when she sees what I've gone and done."

"I could do that..." Shiho said, looking at me levelly, "But be warned, Iggy-kun, unlike Ran your friends and family are not directly affected with you. As long as they don't know of your shrunken existence they should not be in harms way...bringing them here and telling them puts them on the hit-list for the organization."

My stomach plummeted. She was RIGHT. I felt a groan build up inside of me. Especially now, since Scotch knew who I was...oh, right, I was supposed to be telling her about that. I paused, staring at my hands for a moment. It was nice, since I could actually see them for once..."Max...is going to tear me to pieces if she ever finds out I needed help and didn't go to her for it." I said with a sigh, "Alright, text Shinichi and tell him to loose them ASAP. The best way is for him to duck into a big crowd, and use large tree's as cover. He needs to come here."

**

* * *

**

Part of Shinichi was completely unsure as to why he was following the orders of a little girl. Yet every time his rational mind would try to persuade him not to those blue eyes would swim into his head. Almost robotically he was walking toward the Agency. Soon they would know where he lived, and Iggy too.

"Nnnn, he keeps fighting it." Angel said in an irritated voice ahead of him. Shinichi dreamily turned his head in her direction, and the look she gave him had him lurching forward again. It was so odd...

_This is...impossible._Shinichi told himself. It had to be, there was no way to mind-control somebody. Yet here he was, completely unable to stop himself from doing what she was telling him. How odd.

The vibration in his pocket snapped him out of it instantly, and without a second to loose he did what his instincts told him. He bolted for the street. Angel let out a cry of surprise, while the Nudge girl full-out screamed in horror. Shinichi could see why, a huge truck was dangerously close to flattening him.

Shinichi ducked and rolled UNDERNEATH the rolling wheels. The truck roared passed, and Shinichi took this chance to dart out of the street and into a huge crowd of people. As he was running he flipped open his cellphone. It was a message from Haibara. **'Iggy is at Agasa's. He says come here ASAP. Use big crowds and trees to ditch the followers.'**

Well, he had a big crowd, but why trees? He could hardly imagine, but he didn't dare not follow that advice. As he glanced over his shoulder, his perceptive gaze sweeping the crowd he felt a stab of relief. There was no way in hell he was going to let that girl look him in the eye ever again. Creepy.

Since he was, unfortunately, not looking where he was going Shinichi ran headlong into somebody else. He fell back with a groan, and rubbed his forehead. Ready to kick whoever had been standing in his way, Shinichi glared up only to have his eyes widen in surprise. "Ha-Hattori!?"

* * *

Hattori Heiji, Osakan Detective, grinned down at his shrunken peer. He helped the boy to his feet, and gave a very loud and noticeable laugh. "Well if it isn't Kudou! Fancy meetin' you here!"

"Could you keep your voice DOWN..." Kudou hissed at Heiji through clenched teeth. Heiji only blinked at his shrunken friend and shrugged his shoulders apologetically. Kudou glanced behind him and Heiji blinked again.

"Oi, oi, are ya bein' followed?" Heiji asked skeptically. Kudou glanced at him in a fashion that suggested the smaller detective might have been severely annoyed. "Oi! Don't look so nasty, I only asked ya a question sheesh..."

"No, it's fine." Kudou replied with something like a sigh. "It's about time you showed up anyways...another person like...Haibara and I ended up showing up." Heiji's eyes widened as the shrunken metantei continued with a slight smile, "He's living with me and Ran at the moment..."

At the last remark Heiji felt an evil grin spread across his face. Kudou narrowed his eyes suspiciously and uttered something under his breath. Heiji didn't quite catch it, but he leaned down and simply said, "So he's livin' with you and Ran...like it's just you and Ran. Not you and Ran and the old MAN..."

Kudou looked irritated, "Of course he's there..."

"But ya can hardly tell cause ya only got eyes for Ran..." Heiji finished the boy's sentence, though it wasn't what Kudou was going to say. Kudou gave him a very irritated glance and Heiji jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward his bike, which was propped up on the curb. "Ya look like you're goin' somewhere, need a lift?"

"Sure..." Kudou said, dropping the irritated look for a suddenly curious one. "What is it that you are doing in Beika, Hattori?"

"Eh? Oh, a client of mine dragged me here." Heiji said, scowling at the memory of his client. It wasn't so much that the guy was bad or anything, he just NEVER said ANYTHING. It was rather like talking to a door, and Heiji HATED the way he'd pop up out of seemingly nowhere. "Weird guy, he's got a weird name too."

"Eh? What is it?" Kudou asked, as if he thought Heiji wouldn't be able to top somebody elses he had in mind.

"Fang."

**

* * *

**

The roar of a motorcycle was what attracted my attention to them. I opened the door a second before some very tall, dark skinned boy, managed to. He blinked down at me in surprise, and I felt surprise toward him as well. Who the heck was THAT guy? Suspiciousness automatically took hold, but when Shinichi stepped forward I snapped my eyes to his.

"Your eyes are clear." Shinichi said in surprise, "Can you see right now?"

"Yup." I replied, but I was beginning to feel a little tired out from being so sick. Plus I didn't like the fact that I was going to have to explain my 'good fortune' and sudden sight.

"Can't he usually?" The tall teenager mumbled. Noticing my slight glare he laughed nervously, "What, is Kudou the only one of ya shrunken people that actually knows how to act like a normal human bein'?"

"As charming as that last statement by him was..." Shiho said, glaring at the tall boy, "This boy is one of the few in the know, Iggy-kun. His name is Hattori Heiji, and he is some sort of rival of Kudou-kun's. A detective as well."

"Oh." I blinked, and watched with some amusement as Shiho turned her back and Heiji mocked her from behind. Shinichi though, was looking out the window. I followed his gaze and realized that I was missing whatever had him on edge, "Uh...what's up with you?"

"Didn't loose them." He replied, and shot a glare in Heiji's direction. "They probably caught up to me when I was talking with you...as to how they kept up when we were on your bike though...I've got absolutely no idea."

"Perhaps Iggy-kun could get them to go?" Shiho murmured. I gave her a look of confusion. She held her hand open, palm up. In the very center of it was a single pill. "This, is a temporary antidote that lasts for about twenty-four hours. I recently developed a few more of these. If you were to take this, since you have a cold at the moment, you would be able to confront your friends and tell them to return home."

"As tempting as the idea of being back to normal is, even temporary, that wouldn't work." I said, "Save it for Shinichi-kun, Shiho-san, he probably would want to use it more than I ever would." I frowned, "They could leave but..."

"Idea!" Heiji suddenly burst out, "They're tryin' ta follow Kudou, right? Well then I'll just take off on my bike to get them away from here. I'm assumin' ya need Kudou for whatever it is ya wanna talk about so...do ya have a dummy or somethin' we could use to pass off as him?"

"A dummy besides Iggy I'm assuming?" Shiho said, smirking in my direction. I glared at her as evilly as I could manage before she said in a simple tone, "Perhaps Hakase has some things we can use..."

It wasn't hard, after putting together a rough dummy and using my expertise at covering it as much as possible, it was finished. I grinned as we placed Shinichi's sweater on it and a hat. I didn't think the Flock would notice right away, even with their really good sight. It was pretty well done. Besides, as Heiji dashed out the door Shinichi had attached a speaker to the dummy. He stood behind the door and complained into his bowtie until Heiji had driven off.

"They followed him." Shinichi said after a moment. I realized that my sight was already beginning to deminish. I glanced at the clock. It had only been two hours, and my hawk-sight had dwindled to the normal sight that most human beings have. That was better than nothing, though I wasn't liking the idea of loosing it. "I'm assuming that whatever you have to say has to do with your suddenly regained sight?"

"Yes..." I coughed into my hand, "I walked out of the Agency earlier today and...I was kidnapped by one of the organization."

Stunned, it's the best thing I can come up with to describe the tension and the looks that suddenly filled their faces. I looked away from that. Shiho spoke slowly, and in a very cold tone, "So after you escaped you lead them straight to here."

"No." I snorted, "I even got rid of the bag that Scotch gave me, which is why I was carrying all that crap in my pockets by the way. Believe me, there is no way that he could have followed me here." _Unless he grew wings and flew._

"How did you get out without help?" Shinichi said skeptically.

"He let me go." I replied, the looks on their faces told me they didn't believe that. I waved it away, "Believe me, the guy was a complete moron. Basically he told me that if I could tell him where you were, Shiho-san, he would give me a lifetime supply of the wonderful sight-inducing drug. I declined, said he might as well kill me. He let me go..."

"Why?" Shinichi said, then he answered his own question, "It seems almost as if this Scotch person is working without the consent of the higher-ups...which means that he may be the only member of the organization that even knows about Haibara and you. You were at his house, ne?"

"Yes..." I blinked, "So you want to get the cops down there? I...erm...don't exactly remember the adress..."

"The one time you could have been of some use." Shiho drawled a little unkindly. I glared at her, and then noticed that Shinichi was staring out the window again. Shiho followed his gaze and I had to push them out of the way to look out the window. Something that must have really irritated Shiho because she gave me the most evil death-glare possible.

Even though I'd been blind I knew immediately who the person coming up the walk was. I clenched my fists tightly, and a rage suddenly burned in my gut. Fang.

* * *

Shiho glanced over at Iggy. He'd gone from looking a little nervous at her glare to looking angrier than she ever remembered him looking. Carefully keeping her face neutral of the curiosity he had piqued, she glanced at the window at the tall teen who now walked down the sidewalk.

Iggy grabbed her by her shoulders, startling Shiho a little. She scowled at this fact, but found herself looking into Iggy's suddenly intense ice-colored eyes. "The temporary antidote, give it to me now."

"Why?" Shinichi asked, but Shiho produced it from out of her pocket. Shinichi glanced between her and Iggy in confusion. Iggy bounded up the stairs, "Oi! If you're going to use that then you'll need the spare clothes in the closet!"

"Thanks!" Iggy cried, his tone suggesting he was incredibly on edge.

Shiho walked lazily over to the door and opened it before the newcomer had a chance to even knock. The teen who was revealed was tall. If Kudou were to be his normal height this boy would have been a few inches taller than THAT, and Kudou was a pretty tall kid. His hair was jet black, and his eyes were dark as well.

"You must be Fang." Shiho said simply. The surprise that flashed in his eyes was squished down. How amusing, he really thought he was doing a good job at hiding how he felt? He knew nothing of the art of shoving emotion in the darkest corners where no other could see. "You are surprised that I know your name?"

"Uh..." Fang said, blinking at her for a moment. "I'm looking for somebody..."

"Iggy?" Shinichi interrupted. The confusion in Fang's eyes told Shiho that this wasn't the case. Shiho cast a glance over her shoulder at the sound of a thud. Fang clearly hadn't missed this either, but he was looking down at the two children in his path. "You didn't know he was here? Then who ARE you looking for?"

"I...hardly think that matters..." Interrupted Fang's reply. Shiho turned her cold gaze in the direction of the voice. Her face did not reflect what she felt, but her heart stirred with surprise. He didn't appear as though he were merely fifteen to her. Iggy stepped down the stairs and gave what could almost be described as an evil grin, "Well hello, Fang. Nice to see you."

"What are you doing here?" Fang asked. His voice was carefully neutral but there was some curiosity leaked in there. Something like longing flickered in his eyes, "Is Max here?"

"Unfortunately." Shiho answered for Iggy. Iggy glanced down at her and then back at Fang. The dark-haired teen followed the motion and the surprise managed to actually make it's way onto his face for a moment.

"Ig...can you SEE?" Fang asked. Shiho secretly wondered if Iggy was starting to get tired of that particular question. Instead he just rolled his eyes and strolled passed the boy. Fang's face became closed-off, compared to normal people that is, and he followed after him. Shiho lounged in the doorway, almost feeling Shinichi's curiosity.

"We're going somewhere to talk." Iggy said, glancing over his shoulder at the two. "Privately, as in, I don't want any little detectives following me around...Conan-kun. Do me a favor, Ai-san, and make sure he doesn't tail me. This is something that he doesn't need to stick his nose into."

"Oi!" Shinichi protested but Shiho merely nodded her head. Shinichi glared at her as if to call her a traitor but she merely arched an eyebrow at him. Turning away from her he muttered, "That just makes me want to figure out what's going on even more."

"Stop behaving as you look." Shiho stated coolly. Shinichi glared at her and she added in a louder voice, toward Iggy, "Iggy-kun...is this that friend we talked about while we were camping last weekend?"

Iggy grinned, and Shiho did NOT envy Fang in the slightest. "Yes, yes he is." He almost purred it, and Fang blinked at him as though he couldn't quite figure out what was up. Shinichi full-out winced at the tone in his voice.

Shiho sighed. It was the friend that he had said would thank her for shrinking him. The friend that he wanted to beat up. She just hoped that he wouldn't end up getting himself hurt instead.

**

* * *

**

Her father had a habit of making her angry, but Ran had never EVER been so livid with the man as she was now at this very moment. After having left Conan on his own to go play with his friends, Ran had returned home expecting to find a sick Iggy in bed. However, when she opened the door to the bedroom Conan, Iggy, and her father all shared...

The small boy was nowhere to be found. In fact, his futon was missing it's blanket as well. Ran had stood there for a few moments, staring at the empty bed with a mixture of worry and panic. She stormed down the stairs from their small apartment, slammed open the door to her father's office, and found him to be snoring away at his desk.

Ran stomped over to his side. The teen paused a moment, before stooping very close to her father's ear and sucking in a very deep breath. "OTOU-SAAAAAN~!" She screamed in the unconscious man's ear. Her father snapped awake with a cry, and fell out of his office chair in a heap on the floor. Planting both feet firmly on the ground, and placing her hands on her hips she glared down at him. "Where is Iggy-kun?"

"Eh?" The man blinked sleepily up at her for a few seconds before yawning very widely. Ran felt her irritation mount at the man. "You mean the blind free-loader? Isn't he upstairs all snuggled up because of that cold he's got? Damn brat better not be hanging around me, if I get sick I'll-"

"Otou-san, he's NOT in bed." Ran said, feeling her anger switch dizzingly to panic. Ran's eyes widened with horror, "He's disappeared! Otou-san what if somebody's come and taken him away? Or what if he wandered outside! He's BLIND, he can get lost so easily..."

"Don't panic Ran. I'm sure the brat'll come back home when he gets hungry." Her father said. Ran gave him a very cold glare in response to his insensitivity before turning to go outside. "Where are you going?"

"To look for him of course! You should call the police Otou-san..." Ran said, marvelling at the fact that for once it was her saying this and not somebody else telling her to do it. She blinked for a moment before heading out the door. _I'm coming Iggy-kun, just stay safe._

We were in a park. As soon as we found a fairly secluded spot I stopped walking. It had been me who was leading us. So Fang was standing a little ways behind me when we stopped. I didn't say anything. I couldn't think of what I COULD say. Besides, I didn't really want to TALK. That wasn't the reason I came to Japan.

"What is up with you?" Fang spoke softly. The way he always spoke, in a simple way that suggested he didn't usually care to do it for fun. I ground my teeth and clenched my fists. "You're pissed about something...and what the heck is with you staying here? Who were those kids you were hanging out with? How can you see? Where...where is Max?"

"Don't know." I said, not a lie. I didn't know. "I haven't seen Max in almost two weeks now. I assume that she's here to find me, not you, so don't get your hopes up."

"I told her NOT to find me." Fang replied, a little bitterly. I could have sworn that a cold wind suddenly blew between us. "Why haven't you seen Max in two weeks? Is she hurt, or in trouble?"

It was then that I did it. Crossed the space between us with a single fist. It slammed into his cheek, and I watched with satisfaction as the surprise flashed in his eyes. Fang had to catch his balance not to fall over, and the way that he glared at me suggested that he somehow found my action unfair. "I haven't seen Max in two weeks because I've been trying to find your feathery-butt!"

I ran at him again, but he took to the air. I snapped my own wings open and kicked him in the back. Fang faltered a bit in flight, before turning around to face me. "Calm down Ig."

"No you idiot! You don't get it do you?" I snarled, feeling my anger boil through me like the pain induced by that poison. "You practically tore her heart out you moron! No, you did MORE than that. You ripped it out, tore it up, and spit on it for good measure! I can't freakin' BELIEVE that you'd ever ONCE consider leaving the FLOCK!"

"And what about you?" Fang said as he dodged a punch to the face. I felt my fury spark even further because of how easily he managed it. Being able to see was actually HINDERING my fighting abilities! "I bet that Max is worried sick about you! That girl said something...that Max was here...if she's here..."

I kicked him, this time in the stomach. I grinned at my bulls-eye as he spun through the air and barely caught himself before landing very painfully in a tree or something. "If I could talk to Max and let her know that I was okay without risking her life don't you think I WOULD!? I'm not like you!"

"What do you mean by that?" Fang asked, blinking in confusion. I hardly heard the question, because I was suddenly thinking a mile a minute. I flew forward, slamming us both into the tree. Luckily we ended up on a branch, and I held Fang pinned against the trunk.

"I just realized..." I snarled, "That I wouldn't have ever come to Japan if it hadn't been for you! I wouldn't have been in that stupid alley, I wouldn't have met those stupid guys...I wouldn't have been fed that poison! Part of this whole damn thing is YOUR fault!"

"Poison?" Fang said, looking alarmed. I was about to punch him once more when pain tore through me. No, not tore, pulsed. I gagged, and staggered back. "Ig?"

It faded away, and I snapped my wings open and took to the sky. I knew he would follow, because what I had said would have had almost any member of the Flock following me. Even if they were stupid people who decided to ditch everybody. Sure enough I had to put on the brakes because he ended up in front of me. "You know, if this had been any other normal day I would have probably slammed into you?"

"What were you talking about?" Fang asked me. I didn't know how to reply to that, and I was distracted out of the ability to. Because the pain started again. I clutched my chest as it pulsed through me. All consuming, like fire. My flight faltered a bit and I started to cough. "What's wrong?"

"Dammit, back off." I snarled. It seems I've suddenly picked up Shinichi's swearing habit. That guy has an awful potty-mouth for somebody shoved in the body of a seven year old. I winced as the pain came again, stronger this time. No doubt about it, I was changing back. "I...th-thought she said this would last a day..."

My vision flickered, and that's what made me realize it. The reason I could even have the eye drug work for me was my fast metabolism. Metabolism...that was it. Normal drugs worked through my system faster than others, like Tylenol. It would only stand to reason that this would do the same. That the antidote would wear off sooner.

It burned through me, consumed me like fire. My wings decided that enough had been enough. It hurt too much to focus on staying aflight, and they locked up behind me. Gravity took affect, and I was hurtling toward the ground. Fang let out an alarmed noise as I plummeted to my sure death on the ground below.

About ten feet from the ground I managed to beat my wings just once. It was enough to give me some air, but I still crashed into the ground. It was a miracle that I didn't land on my head. At the moment I hardly even noticed the pain of falling, I was too busy trying not to burn from the inside out.

"Iggy..." Fang said, he had landed beside me. When did that happen? I glared up at him. This pathetic attempt at showing him just how unwilling of help I was at the moment was broken by the agony ripped through me. It felt as if my heart was trying to burst out of my chest. "Is something wrong?"

My glare managed to get even more potent than before. I hissed out through clenched teeth, sarcasm dripping from every word like venom, "No, nothing's wrong at all. I just WANTED to throw myself at the ground from ten feet."

"What is happening to you?" He asked flatly.

With those words real panic set in. I was so stupid. If Fang figured out what had happened...I would never forgive myself. Not only would it be the most humiliating moment of my entire life, but it would be putting Fang in danger. I was so stupid, even talking to him now was putting him in the line of fire. "Baka...." I coughed the same time as some pain ripped through me.

Through some miracle I managed to get to my feet. No, it wasn't a miracle. Fang had helped me. As soon as my feet were both beneath me I shoved him down, hard. Fang looked up at me in a mixture of exasperation and irritation. I stumbled away. There had to be...something...I had to get away and fast.

I clenched my hand into a fist. That would work. As Fang stepped closer to me again, this time cautiously, I spun around. I socked him in the jaw, as hard as I could. His eyes went blank for a moment, before he collapsed to the ground unconscious. I'd just sucker-punched him. I grimaced. "That felt...way too good."

I winced at the pain again and staggered to the street. Waving down a taxi I stumbled inside. I handed him a wad of money that had been in the pocket of the jacket I was wearing. For a moment I didn't know where to tell him to go. Pain pulsed through me, "M-Mouri Detective Agency, and step on it."

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_**YAY! I got to play with Ran! She's such a fun character! :3**_

**_Not to mention Heiji -cuddles- and Fang, our two guest stars! _**

_**Wow...long chapter. -.-u**_

_**I'll get to work on the next one ASAP...in the meantime...**_

_**Please review?**_

_**PS! Those of you out there with cellphones that know American Idol...**_

_**Vote for Lee! WOO! He rocked it tonight...erm, well he rocked it about as much as a person can rock a Sinatra song, but you know what I mean. X3**_


	12. Bringing on Suspicion

_Disclaimer:_

_If I owned either of these I'd be making mucho bucks..._

_**So this week I have my Senior Trip.**_

_**We're going to Cour D' Alane...(sp?)**_

_**It's a city with a big lake. I forget which state it's in because I get confused about it. -.-u **_

_**Never been there before myself, so I hope I can have some fun. **_

_**Unfortunately this means that there won't be an update during the week, at least not until Friday.**_

_**Sorry.**_

_**Ashimattack- I'm glad you loved how he punched Fang. It was one of my favorite parts, I laughed my tail off while writing it. Teehee...**_

_**Elena Forest- Aw, that sucks. I'm sorry that your computer broke. I know, poor Ig. He's gonna need a lot of hugs in this next chapter too. -cuddles Iggy-**_

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_Chapter Twelve- Bringing on Suspicion_

Shinichi was worried. This day seemed to be taking turns that were definitely not for the best. His mind was focused on trying to find a way to track down the syndacite member that Iggy had an unfortunate run in. Since he was so deep in thought, when his cellphone went off noisily, he jerked out of his thoughts.

It was a message from Iggy. He didn't have to hear the sound of Iggy's voice to know he was panicked. _**I'm shrinking! In a taxi, holding it off. Headed 4 agency. Go there.**_

Shinichi blinked, and wordlessly showed the image to Haibara, who had glanced up from her place at the computer at the sound of his ringtone. A brief amount of confusion flashed in her eyes that Shinichi almost didn't catch before she turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. If it had been any other person, Shinichi would have thought she was glaring at him. However he knew Haibara enough to realize that she was thinking, not angry with him.

"It's odd." She finally stated, probably after noticing the practically rabid curiousity flickering in Shinichi's eyes. "I did nothing different with that antidote, it should have worked on him basically the same way it did with you."

"It didn't even last for four hours." Shinichi said, not envying Iggy in the least. His worry though, was that Iggy would change back to being a kid in front of Ran. How the heck would THAT be explained? Panic gripped him, and he found himself leaping off the couch. Haibara looked at him with level curiousity and he simply stated, "Gotta get back to the agency. Tell Hattori to come there when he's done with those kids..."

"You should take the skateboard, Hakase is done repairing it." Haibara stated evenly. She turned back to the computer and began to rapidly type. "I may have to check some things out about Iggy-kun, if his body went through the antidote so quickly..."

"I'll tell him." Shinichi said, backing out the door and grabbing the super-powered skateboard on his way out. He jumped on top of it, and with a simple positioning of his right foot, the skateboard hummed to life. He rocketed down the sidewalk, expertly weaving in and out of the way of pedestrians. _Don't let Ran see...please..._

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The taxi-driver was probably starting to consider taking me to the hospital instead of the agency. I was struggling not to scream from the agony that pounded through my chest, and my denials got weaker and weaker. I knew we were headed the wrong way when he grimly stopped asking if I was okay.

Struggling to breathe, I wrenched open the door. He was still driving so it came as a shock to the poor guy when I bailed out of the seat. I hit the asphalt and had to force myself to roll over onto the sidewalk. My head was screaming at me to get up and run, but my legs were trying to remind me that I was hurting to badly to move.

I NEEDED to get out of sight. If I changed back, in front of all of these people...and the organization found OUT...it would mean bad things. Every person who walked near here on a regular basis would probably be killed. Besides, the only thing I was clinging to about being caught by Scotch was the fact that he seemed to be working alone.

I don't think it would be good for Scotch, or me, if I were to shrink in public.

I could hardly believe it, when I felt a helpful hand lift me to my feet. I dreaded the thought of it being the taxi-driver, or even some person who would drag me to the hospital. Instead when I lifted my gaze to the face of my helper I found myself face to face with Shinichi's friend. I struggled for his name, "H-Hattori-kun?"

"Ah, so I was right. It WAS ya who was fallin' down, Iggy-kun!" Hattori grinned at me almost wickedly. "Good guess, eh? I figured it was ya who was fallin' down like this, not hard to put together when ya were just smaller when I first metchya. Don't worry, I lost those people a long time ago. They aren't tailin' me anymore. But ya need help right?"

"Yeah..." I ground out, curling in on myself against another wave of pain. Hattori helped me to my feet and we stumbled over to an alley-way. It was there that it finally happened...next thing I knew my feet weren't touching the ground. I was hanging off of Hattori's shoulder. I glanced in his direction, the pain I had endured left me exhausted and I couldn't seem to get my words out.

"You're welcome." Hattori said, deducing what I was going to say. "Just so ya know, ya owe me..."

It was the last thing I heard before unconsciousness gripped me completely.

* * *

Ran was just making it outside onto the sidewalk when she almost mowed down one Osakan detective. Her surprise at seeing Hattori Heiji was replaced by the equal surprise of the fact that he was carrying Iggy-kun in his arms. "H-Hattori-kun!?" Ran managed to stammer out. Hattori blinked, looking incredibly nervous suddenly.

"Oi! Uh, R-Ran..." Hattori said, laughing nervously. "I was...walkin' down the street when I found this little guy curled up asleep in an alleyway. I figured he needed to get back to ya so..."

"Thank you Hattori-kun!" Ran said, her relief taking hold as Hattori passed the small child into her arms. Her hand hovered over his forehead and she felt her concern mount. His fever was worse than it had been this morning, she could almost guarantee it. As if to accentuate this the small boy coughed pathetically and his eyes fluttered open. "You're alright now, Iggy-kun..."

"Ran-neechan?" Iggy said, blinking sleepily from her arms. He fell back asleep though, and Ran noticed that Hattori had shoved his hands into his pockets and was looking away. Ran blinked as she looked at him, wondering why he was in Beika in the first place. Something else occurred to her as she studied the nervous teen.

"Hattori-kun...how did you know that Iggy-kun was staying here?" She asked, watching as panic flashed in his eyes and his shoulders stiffened suddenly.

"U-uh..." Hattori stammered, giving her a very nervous smile. "Th-that's just because he said your name in his sleep! Conan-kun gave me a phone call the other day and t-told me that there was another kid livin' with ya so I figured it was this little guy...how'd he get out of the house anyways? He's pretty sick..."

"Otou-san..." Ran growled, rolling her eyes irritably. Another question arose, "Why is he wearing these clothes? They're far too big for him..."

To this Hattori could only shrug and laugh a little nervously about. Ran was about to pry further, something suspicious was going on with the dark-skinned teen, when he heard a friendly cry from the end of the street. Ran glanced back to see Conan hurtling towards her and Hattori. "Hello!"

"Ku-K-Conan-kun!" Hattori stumbled around Conan's name...again. Ran glanced at him a little but focused on Conan instead. Hattori always seemed to have a problem with saying Conan's name. In fact that was one of the reasons she suspected that...but never mind. Ran had more important matters to attend to, like a sick little boy.

"I'm glad you're home Conan-kun..." Ran said, "You need to get inside. I think we need to take Iggy-kun to the hospital...I'll get a taxi to take us there."

Iggy's eyes snapped open at the word 'hospital' as if somebody had electrocuted him with a live-wire. He jerked upright in her arms and burst into a fit of coughing. "No-no-no! Ran-neechan, I'm okay! I swear it!"

"Iggy-kun just because you don't like doctors..." Ran said, but the boy managed to somehow squirm from her grasp. Ran blinked, she hadn't been holding him so hard that it would hurt him but she had a pretty firm grip. How had he broken out of it so easily, and when he was so sick?

"No-oooo! It'd make Mouri-ojisan angry!" Iggy said around a cough. "I'm fine, honest! I just went to go find some medicine because I didn't think I could wait for you and Conan-niichan...I got tired so I went to sleep. Please don't take me to the hospital Ran-neechan, I don't need it...I...don't want to be a burden on you."

Iggy's bangs were hiding his eyes, and Ran felt her heart stir for the small child. "Never think that us taking you to get help would be a burden, Iggy-kun..." Ran soothed. The boy ducked away from her and ran up the stairs. Ran watched after him, her concern not completely gone.

"It'd probably be worse for him to take him there if he's so adamant." Conan said in a strangely serious tone of voice. When Ran glanced questioningly at the child he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "Iggy-kun would just run around alot to try and not go and make himself sicker!"

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When the door opened the first thing I expected to see, albeit a little blurrily now, was Ran's face. Instead it was Shinichi, glancing carefully over his shoulder he shut the door behind him. The serious look in his eyes put me on edge, so I decided to huddle myself deeper into the blankets.

I'd managed to change out of the bigger clothes by now, and was comfortable in some fitting pajama's. Shinichi walked over to the heap of clothing on the floor and fingered through it. I felt my stomach knot a little when he picked up the shirt and turned to face me. He held it up and put his hand through the holes I had used for my wings. "You ruined my shirt."

"Eheheh, sorry about that." I said, nervously coughing and scratching the back of my head. It MUST have been serious, for him to have risked Ran overhearing a statement like that. I struggled to think of an excuse for that. Looking at the blood and dirt on it as well I kind of chuckled, "I fell."

Not a lie, technically. Except for the fact that the holes in the back were made by my wings. Shinichi snorted and leaned forward so that our faces were uncomfortably close. Remember when I said I'd never like to be backed into a deduction corner by this guy? It seemed I ended up there anyways. "You fell."

"Yup." I replied, trying not to feel nervous or crack under the pressure of the fact that this guy was a freakin' genius when it came to sleuthing. Shinichi backed away and turned his back so that he was facing the door. I stared at the spot between his shoulder blades and dared to venture a question, "Does Shiho-san know that her miracle drug failed? I'd have liked to see her face when that happened...but as it is...well things are already getting blurry."

Silence met my words, and I feared that he wouldn't go for my change in subject. When he turned around he had a smile on his face, but it made me feel slightly uneasy. Still he leaned forward, "Haibara is aware that the antidote failed to work, which means she may require you to take some tests later by the way."

"T-tests?" I said, "Like running on a treadmill right?"

"No, probably some blood tests. Or even a urine sample..." An oh-so evil grin crossed his features. I didn't know whether to be horrified at the thought of needles, or to be completely humiliated by the mere thought of handing Shiho a cup filled with my...well, you know.

"I don't do shots..." I said with a shudder. Shinichi rolled his eyes as though I was being childish, which I found incredibly annoying. Sure, he could laugh it off. It wasn't like HE spent most of his life being poked and prodded for scientific gain. I suddenly winced inwardly. A blood test would most likely reveal that I had about two-percent bird in me. Erm...yeah. "Peeing in a cup it is..."

"Eh?" Shinichi asked. I realized that he had been thinking and my talking had probably snapped him from his thoughts.

"Nothing." I assured him with a fake-smile. _Now please just go away, my head feels like it's going to explode all over the place._

"You should get some sleep." Shinichi said, and suddenly bent down so that he was uncomfortably close again. I was about to snap at him about getting out of my personal space when I noticed the completely SMUG smirk that had crossed his features. "I just want you to know one little thing, Iggy-kun..."

"Yes?" I said, my mouth was beginning to feel dry.

"I WILL figure out what is strange about you." He said, smirking at the look of panic that most have briefly flared in my eyes. I could almost hear him taking that down and filing it away in his growing stack of clues or suspicions. "Something is up with you, and I will find out what it is."

"Oh?" I said, trying to hide the fact that he was kind of freaking me out. If this was how he treated somebody he was curios about because they were ODD...well I certainly didn't envy any of the murderers that crossed his path. "I don't know how people can think you're just some cute little kid, Shinichi. You look like a freakin' demon when you make that face."

As soon as these words left my mouth the door behind Shinichi opened. Both of us froze in complete panic as Ran poked her head in the room. Our eyes locked, the same question flying through our heads. _Did she HEAR any of that?_ Either way we were basically screwed. Shinichi stood stiffly, as if he was waiting for somebody to stab him or something.

"Conan-kun, it's almost time for dinner. Iggy-kun would you like something to eat?" Ran asked, Shinichi visibly relaxed and I smiled in her direction and nodded my head quickly. I don't think I could have said anything at that moment, my heart was pounding too hard. "Alright then, the two of you need to wash your hands."

With that she shut the door and I heaved a completely relieved sigh. "Thought I stole your thunder, sorry about that Sh...Conan-kun." I said, carefully in case Ran was still close to the door. "We got lucky..."

"I hope." Shinichi said, then blinked, "What do you mean, 'stole your thunder'?"

"It's YOUR secret, technically. She's never asked me my age, so I'm not lying to her myself. As far as I see it...well it's your duty to tell her when you think the time is right. After all, YOU'RE the one who has been living under her nose for months and letting her worry about you..." I trailed off at the look of depression crossing his features. "Eh, come on! I'm starving to death!"

* * *

"Iggy-kun!" Ran said, amusement mingling with her impatience. I snapped my gaze from the window for what must have been the third time. I kept getting caught up in the fact that I could SEE a sunset. I really wanted to go look at it. She sighed, and leaned over me, "You've dropped your food again. I swear Iggy-kun..."

"Sorry..." I apologized, ducking my head in embarassment. Judging from the slightly dark look from Shinichi, he wasn't too happy with me stealing his girl's attention. I rolled my eyes. _Really Shinichi, she thinks I'm a CHILD for Pete's sake..._

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that brat keeps staring out the window at the sunset." Kogoro said, weaving a little in his place. I inwardly winced. Really, the guy could NEVER seem to get the right deduction but he pegs me almost instantly. I made myself glare at the spot above his shoulder.

"Otou-san..." Ran said, crossing her arms over her chest. She turned and ruffled my hair. "Don't be bothered by him, Iggy-kun. If you don't have a fever tomorrow you should go to school. If it's necessary you can wear a mask so you don't get the other kids sick, alright Iggy-kun? We don't want you falling behind."

I agreed whole-heartedly. The idea of hanging around the same place where Scotch had found me, with only KOGORO as protection? No thanks folks.

"And if you're REALLY feeling better tomorrow..." Ran smiled, "Hattori-kun offered to take us all out to eat for supper. That would be nice, ne? It's odd though, since he doesn't really live in Beika...we'll probably have to make sure he doesn't take us to a place with bad food."

She laughed lightly and I glanced over at Shinichi from my plate. He seemed genuinely happy about the idea of spending time with his rival...friend thing. Hattori had been nice enough to save my skin, and for that I was completely grateful. Still, I had to wonder why the Osakan was in the know...

As I thought about this my gaze went to the fading sunset.

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Nudge could hardly believe that they had managed to be tricked like that. Staring at the dummy that was on the ground, she found herself feeling a little admiration for the craftiness of that boy they had been following. Max nudged the thing with her foot, and the head fell off. "Well...it was clever."

Max glanced at her and gave her a ghost of a smile. Nudge could still see the complete frustration flickering behind her eyes. After a heartbeat the leader replied, "We were obvious enough...for a child to realize he was being tailed."

"We must have scared the poor kid to death." Total agreed, looking over at Max with his gentle brown eyes. The dog paused for a moment, and Nudge wondered what he was sitting on. Finally he added, with a quick look at Angel, "Not that I blame him, he almost got flattened by a truck getting away from us."

"Exactly." Max said, and Nudge recalled the brief horror she had felt when that small boy had darted into TRAFFIC to get away from them. Max looked sternly at Angel, "It's exactly why I don't like you using that power of yours. That boy was scared of us, scared enough to chance the tires of a freakin' semi..."

Nudge knew why that would make Max angry. They spent their lives running from people and pulling out desperation like that. The idea that they had scared someone else to the point of almost killing themselves. Nudge shuddered. She was just relieved that poor Conan hadn't been flattened.

Angel looked ready to argue, but Gazzy interrupted them. "What now though? We haven't found Iggy anywhere..." Nudge felt a pang for the young boy as anxiety swept through his eyes. Gazzy was so close to Iggy..."We can't give up. He's here, somewhere. I can FEEL it Max."

"Me too." Angel added. All eyes swiveled to her, and Nudge held her breath. "I'm positive he's here."

"Well, unless we want some poor kid to become roadkill we should probably stay away from Teitan Elementary school. We never did find out where Conan lived...but..." Max shrugged her shoulders, "We'll just have to follow the other kids and see where they go...but we should wait."

"Wait..." Nudge said to herself. She blinked as a passing car illuminated a sign nearby. A brilliant idea occurred to her. "Max! Max! I have an idea!"

"What?" Max asked, practically turning blue under the grip Nudge had gotten on her. Nudge pointed to the sign, to which Max could only reply by blinking blankly, "Yessss...?"

"It's a school~!" Nudge sang. To make sure she glanced at Dylan who nodded at her. "We could enroll somewhere. I know it's not SUPER close to Teitan Elementary, but wouldn't that be better? We don't want to cross paths with Conan and freak him out or something! Let's go here..."

"To lie low?" Max finished, looking thoughtful. Every other bird-kid, bar perhaps Dylan who just looked confused, was shaking their heads from side to side. Max nodded finally, and opened her cellphone. "Alright, fine. But we may need a little help getting enrolled." Nudge let out a wild cheer.

* * *

Kogoro's snoring could fill the entire house, I swear. Which meant that when I decided to finally go to bed...well I probably wouldn't be able to. I had managed to open the window, and was sitting on my knee's in front of it. I watched as the traffic hummed below. I closed my fingers around the note that had been in the briefcase.

They were instructions for the sight medicine. It described that the shot was not required to be taken between the eyes. The only reason Scotch did it that way was because it was the only way to get an immediate effect. I could take it in my arm, but it would take an hour before I could see clearly. Unfortunately using the medicine in the place Scotch had, while making me be able to see much faster, also let the drug wear off at a faster pace.

Which explained why, as I watched the cars, darkness was beginning to swamp my vision. I felt a well of frustration and sadness within me. I couldn't ever use those shots again, which was why I left them at Agasa's. To have them with me offered too much temptation.

"It's wearing off." Shinichi told me, sitting next to me. Though he stated it as a fact there was some definite sympathy in his voice. After a moment he said, "You...I'm sorry Iggy-kun."

"Not your fault." I replied softly. His cellphone suddenly went off, and Shinichi scrambled to answer it. As he flicked it open I let my gaze flit back to the traffic below. I hated this. How unfair it was. How unfair that one of the things I'd have liked to see the most was invisible because of where I was. "Damn...light pollution...I really wanted to see the stars."

Was it stupid that I was close to tears? I would normally have been embarassed but...to be honest with you this was one of the times that I felt the most completely pathetic and wretched in my entire life. Silence stretched between us. It was broken by whoever was on the phone with Shinichi, he jerked next to me and sighed. "I'm here Haibara, sorry. Iggy-kun was saying something..."

I coughed into my hand and crawled into my bed. I didn't bother to listen to Shinichi, instead I placed my head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. Shinichi crawled into his futon, and for a moment the only thing that could be heard was Kogoro's chain-sawing snore in the corner. "I don't...want to go to sleep. It's stupid but...I know that when I wake up it will be gone."

"...Goodnight...Iggy-kun." Shinichi replied after a short pause. I grimaced a little, he sounded miserable FOR me. I stared at my fingers, watching as my eyesight slowly began to leave me once more.

Sometimes, life sucks.

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_**Awww...**_

_**Iggy makes me feel so sad...-cuddles-**_

_**Next chapter, dinners, run-ins, and the Flock getting used to their new school. **_

_**Especially when Dylan and Max have such...interesting classmates. :3**_


	13. The Unlucky Encounter

_Disclaimer:_

_This belongs to the brilliant Gosho Aoyoma...not me..._

_**Sooo...**_

_**Awesome-sauce trip! **_

_**Though I'm completely WIPED out...**_

_**ZOMFG! I graduate the Sunday after THIS! 0.o**_

_**And I'm keeping Dyl in character, which means that he's gonna be attracted to Max. I'm a Fax fan, so you Faxers don't be flaming me...I'm not going to suddenly change his personality so that he detests her or something. **_

_**And I get to write for my favorite DC character (besides Shinichi) today! :3 Can you guess which one he is?**_

_**Em Phantom- I realized today that your name has something to do with Danny Phantom, which I found incredibly awesome. One of the best Nickelodeon shows EVER. -coughs- Beyond that random little blurb, you got to teach? That sounds fun! Thanks for the review :3**_

_**Elena Forest as Michelle (again X3)- The Detective Boys'll be on the case for cheerin' him up! -shoves children at Iggy- Lawl, yeah, he doesn't know Hattori too well. Angel? I think she last said she turned seven...or something like that. X3 The shirt line was my favorite out of the whole chapter, I could see him so clearly doing that. And Nooope, it's not Ran's school. -grins-**_

_**Ashimattack- -pats Iggy- Some people would argue that Iggy wouldn't be Iggy if he could see. I don't think that's very fair, I'd love him either way. -cuddles Iggy- Lawl, yeah, he's got it better than a lot of people in the world. :3 Except the whole part where people try to kill him a lot for having wings...D:**_

**_So I basically decided that since this was the thirteenth chapter it called for some bad luck. :3 Poor Iggy..._**

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_Chapter Thirteen- The Unlucky Encounter_

Ekoda high school. It was the name of the place Dylan and Max would be going to school for awhile. Nudge was in the nearby middle school of the same name, and Gazzy and Angel would be attending an elementary school a few blocks away from this one. All three schools were far away from Teitan Elementary. It was probably for the best, since that poor boy probably wouldn't react well to Angel being in his class.

Dylan neatly placed his things in the locker that had been assigned to him. He could feel the curious stares on the back of his neck, but he hardly noticed them. His eyes kept flitting to one Maximum Ride.

It was obvious that she wasn't very comfortable, she kept shifting from side to side and trying to pull her skirt so that it would cover more. Dylan felt a blush rise to his face when she caught him staring and gave him a potent glare. Coughing, he turned to shut the door of his locker.

"I hate this." Max complained suddenly. Dylan caught her scowling at her uniform as she added, "It's completely ridiculous, why would anyone MAKE somebody where such a tiny thing?"

"I rather like mine." Dylan commented, glancing at his own simple uniform. Compared to Max's sailor-girl suit it was much more conservitive. It even had a jacket to go over it, though Dylan, like Max herself, had slit some discreet holes in the back in case they needed to take flight. Max glared.

"You would, YOURS wasn't designed by some freakin' pervert." Max groaned, and Dylan felt a smile curving his lips. He turned his head quickly so that she wouldn't catch it, and was saved by her asking when the bell for their class chimed. The two glanced at each other before heading into one of the empty rooms.

Dylan wasn't the shy type. He naturally melded well with social situations, which was why he already got along so well with most of the Flock. Even Max seemed to have slightly accepted him now, though there were times that Dylan was sure she blamed him for Fang's leaving. Either way, he wasn't shy, so compared to Max's slouched reluctance he was a beacon that the students of the room instantly looked at.

"Class..." The teacher said, "We have two new students today. Say hello to Wylder Maxine and Storm Dylan. They are exchange students from America, and while Storm-kun can speak Japanese, Wylder-chan seems to have some trouble. It may take some getting used to, but we will help her with our classes the best we can."

Yes, they were cheesy, but the aliases had been thought up on the spot really. Max had decided that, while Dylan's name was fairly normal, the others would surely draw some attention. If they were ever caught using the normal names they could always simply state it was a nickname. (Hence Maximum's alias being Maxine...)

"Konichiwa!" The entire room chimed. Max put on a smile and waved at them but Dylan could tell the girl was still jumpier than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Thankfully they were directed to seats that were next to each other. Dylan could translate for her if she got too lost.

Almost as soon as they sat down, someone was in front of their desk. Max instantly stiffened, but Dylan felt his curiousity pique instead. The boy in front of them had messy brown hair and playful blue eyes. As he leaned casually on Max's desk he flipped his wrist and in a puff of pink smoke a rose appeared. With a wink he said, "Hello~!"

"Magic!" Dylan exclaimed, feeling a twinge of fascination. How had the boy done that? Curiosity now burning at him, Dylan gave the boy a grin that could almost be considered childish. "That was amazing!"

"Thank you!" The boy replied with a quick glance over his shoulder. Dylan noticed him stick his tongue out at a messy-haired girl who was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed. He turned back to Dylan and Max and stuck out his hand, "I'm Kuroba Kaito!"

"Don't mind Kuroba-kun...he tends to get easily excited." A whispered voice startled Dylan into glancing at a newcomer. His mouth dropped open. She was literally the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Dylan shook his head in confusion, blinking a few times as she laughed at him. "My name is Koizumi Akako!"

Kaito was practically glaring at Akako, who Dylan had to force his gaze away from. There was something odd about the way she attracted attention, almost like a spell or something...Before Dylan could ponder on this any further another person joined the circle around their desks. Max was looking completely lost by now, as everything was being said in Japanese. So it was a surprise when the newcomer said in English, "Greetings to you." Then in Japanese he stated, "I am Hakuba Saguru...a detective."

"Not NEARLY as interesting as me." Kaito pouted, and had to duck as the handle of a mop came out of nowhere. Max's eyebrow twitched as the wooden piece slammed onto the top of her desk. "Oi! Oi! Watch it Aoko! You almost brained poor Wylder-chan."

"Maybe it's time you stopped being irritating and let the new people get settled in..." Aoko said, a hint of danger in her tone. Kaito only danced away with a light-hearted chuckle before the girl turned an apologetic look in their direction. "I'm sorry about that. My name is Nakomori Aoko, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The teacher told the students to get back in their seats, as soon as they left Max leaned over and whispered, "Of course we get a school that's just filled to the brim with nuts..."

**

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**

At least when I woke up the next morning I didn't have much of a cold anymore. I also couldn't see...not that it was much of a surprise, considering the rate it was fading the night before. Still, I spent most of the day in a cloud of depression. Even school consisted of me sulking in my desk while the Detective Boys attempted to cheer me up.

It was toward the end of the day when they succeeded. I was starting to put my books away when something was placed on top of the book I was starting to put away. I blinked twice in slight confusion as two more things were added to this pile, "What's going on?"

"We all decided to give you something, Iggy-kun." Mitsuhiko declared, sounding ever so slightly nervous. "Each of us noticed that you were sad, and we thought that maybe it was because you were still feeling ill. So I gave you my thermos so that Ran-oneesan could put some soup in it for you..."

"I gave you my hat, to keep your head warm...even though you've got a hooded jacket..." Genta laughed nervously.

"And I gave you my stuffed rabbit." Ayumi said, "I know that boys don't like that sort of thing Iggy-kun, but I always feel better when I have something to cuddle...and I don't mind if you borrow my bunny for a little while."

For a moment I couldn't say anything. Sheesh, these kids were so...so nice. I coughed to hide my embarassment as I gathered all of the items, placing the hat on my head and putting the thermos in my bag. I kept ahold of the rabbit. "Thanks you guys, I really appreciate it."

Aw, even I can't stay sulky when little kids try and cheer me up. What do you think I am, heartless? If the stuff they had given me wasn't enough, the massive bear hug and resounding cheers at their victory sealed the deal. I found myself smiling, and I knew how it was possible that someone would get easily attached to kids like these.

**

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**

We parted ways with Haibara, who hadn't really said anything to me all day. I wasn't sure why, but that kind of bothered me. I was wondering if she was angry with me for getting kidnapped or something. Which is stupid, since I didn't exactly walk out into the street with a neon sign that said, 'Come here black organization!' or something like that.

"Don't let it get you down." Shinichi advised me in a whisper. In a louder tone, so that Ran could hear, he said, "Ne, Ran-neechan...Heiji-niichan is going to pick us up for supper soon isn't he?"

"It's a little early for supper." I commented, not that I was complaining. I love food, I'd eat anything at practically any time. Just so this was clear I quickly added, "Not that I care at all! Where is he going to take as anyways, Conan-niichan?"

"Oi!" I heard, right before Shinichi could answer me. It was that Hattori guy from earlier. I heard him as he walked up to us, and could practically see the smile plastered on his dark face. "Found ya guys! Geez you take forever to walk, don't you?"

"We had to drop off my friends." Shinichi said, in a voice that was borderline being the normal tone he used when he wasn't trying to sound like a little kid. I could practically feel the slight irritation he felt from Hattori's comment, which was incredibly amusing. Something told me that Hattori was the kind of guy that you either hated or really liked.

"Sorry about that, Hattori-kun." Ran apologized, sounding slightly confused at Shinichi's haughty tone. Shinichi seemed to have noticed his blunder, and was laughing nervously. "Iggy-kun is feeling much better today. Thank you so much for helping us to find him, ne, Iggy-kun?"

"Thank you." I replied, really meaning it. The guy saved my skin. I felt a hand on my head as the Osakan leaned down to my level. Ran and Shinichi walked on ahead and I felt slightly confused. "What is it, Hattori-kun?"

"Oh..." The detective drummed his fingers on my head, which was kind of annoying, but he continued none-the-less. "It's just that...now ya owe me one, Iggy-kun. Do ya happen to know of any great restaraunts in this place? I want to surprise Kudou..."

_More like you want to one-up him._ I thought with a twitch of my eyebrows. Though I seemed irritated outwardly, I was actually quite amused by this guy. I removed his hand from my head and patted it lightly. "Sorry, Hattori-kun. I don't know of any good places to eat here. I just got settled in this place myself. You happen to be on your own."

"Geez..." Hattori said, as if it was my fault for not knowing a good place to eat. If he wanted to show Shinichi up so badly why in the world hadn't he tried to look it up before. In the same almost accusing tone he said, "I guess I shouldn't have relied on the new guy to try and get me a place."

"Not my fault you didn't do your research." I replied haughtily, sticking my tongue out in his direction. I jumped away from him, grabbing onto Ran's hand and swinging with a laugh. Ran seemed to find me incredibly amusing, and while I was so close to her Hattori wouldn't be able to bother me anymore with his secrets. Shinichi, however, dared to try.

"Oi, oi...what was that about?" He queried in a whisper. Unfortunately Ran overheard this, and stopped walking. Shinichi let out a quick noise that would make anybody in the world sound suspicious.

"What was what about?" She asked, and I could almost see her narrowing her eyes down at us. Both Shinichi and I seemed to be stuck without a solution. Until an unbelievably evil one suddenly came to my mind.

"Heiji-niichan said that I owed him one." I said in my most child-like voice, telling the truth but knowing how it would look and sound for the poor Osakan detective. The guy let out something crossed between a nervous laugh and a whimper. I bet that Ran was glaring at him over my head. "What does that mean, Ran-neechan?"

"N-now I was just kiddin'!" Hattori stammered out a little nervously. Shinichi snickered and I shot Hattori a mischevious grin. Ran turned away with a murmur and I heard Hattori sigh, "That was a little uncalled for, donchya think?"

"Don't worry about anything, Iggy-kun." Ran said. I could almost feel the heat from her glare as she added, "Hattori-kun was just playing a game with you. Ne, Hattori-kun?"

"R-right..." Hattori said. Ran walked on and I heard him add in a quiet whisper, "That's two ya owe me. One for the save, and another for just tryin' ta get Mouri-chan to kick my butt."

I waved the detective off before we set off down the street some more. Hattori seemed to be in a rather broody sort of mood since my little prank. Shinichi let out something like a resigned sigh. I smirked a little to myself. He was acting as if it really put him on the spot, but I knew that he was going to try and cheer his friend up. Or at least distract him. "Heiji-niichan, you said that somebody else was going to be eating with us. Is Kazuha-neechan in town?"

"Nah, she's back in Osaka." Hattori drawled, "We're meeting him up toward the end of the street. Doesn't like large crowds, he's weird like that. He's a friend of mine, I guess."

"Friend..." Shinichi said, sounding curious but slightly confused about something. As though he knew something, but couldn't quite remember what it was. I shrugged my shoulders hardly caring. "Weird..."

"Oi! There he is now!" Hattori said, suddenly Shinichi stiffened at my side and threw my hood over my head. I let out a yelp of protest and tried to squirm away from him. Hattori and Ran had both stopped to observe this random display. "Uh...Ku-Conan-kun what are ya doin'?"

"Eh? O-oh! Little brother still has a bit of a cold! He should be wearing his hood, ne?" Shinichi said in his childlike voice. I was about ready to shove him hard enough to knock his little butt onto the concrete when he hissed, "Don't struggle, hide your face. I just remembered that Hattori had a client in town..."

"Wha?" I said, an instant before I heard the familiar footsteps. My heart leaped into my throat, and I pulled the hood up so as to better conceal my face. My stomach churned. I couldn't be that unlucky, it couldn't possibly be HIM who ran into us.

"Oi, Fang-kun." Hattori greeted him, confirming my fear. For the love of everything that a bird-kid can hold sacred why did HE have to show up? Of all the people that I had to meet like THIS...I did NOT want it to be Fang. Especially after I clocked him good yesterday. Maybe that was why he showed up...stupid karma.

"Conan-kun!" Ran said, sounding surprised. Judging by his footsteps, and the way she had stumbled slightly, the shrunken detective was hiding behind her. I suddenly remembered why. Fang had briefly seen Shinichi at Agasa's, if he happened to recognize him he might start asking questions about where I was. "I'm sorry...he's not usually a shy kid but..."

"It's okay." Fang said in reply. "Don't worry...Conan-kun, was it? I wouldn't hurt you. My name is Fang, it's nice to meet you."

Shinichi did not reply, perhaps fearing that Fang would somehow recognize his voice. I wondered if the former Flock-member would have been able to. Fang was an oddly observant person, since he was quiet all the time he often noticed things that others completely missed. I wouldn't put it passed him, but I had to hope that he wouldn't recognize Shinichi.

"What is WITH you?" Hattori said, obviously confused. After all, he knew that Shinichi wasn't just some little kid that would become afraid of somebody he didn't know. Before Shinichi could reply I knew that Fang was getting close to me. I stepped back nervously, and pulled my hood a little tighter across my face.

"Who is this?" Fang asked curiously, I flinched at the question. Oh CRAP. There was nothing, NOTHING stopping Ran or Hattori from saying my name. I struggled to think of anything that could be used to pull me out of this situation. Cripe, what could I do! It was Shinichi who saved my skin though.

"You have to guess!" Shinichi said suddenly, realizing that him staying hidden was less imperative than my identity. I could practically hear the scolding I'd get later for not adopting an alias of some sort, like he had. It wasn't like I had planned ahead or anything like that. It wasn't like I expected Fang to find me all shrunken like this..."Whatever you guess is what you have to call him all the time, and Ran-neechan and Hattori-kun can't say anything about his real name either."

"Then how will I know if I got it right?" Fang asked, sounding faintly amused.

"You can call me Edogawa-kun." I said, "Because that's the polite thing to do."

There was a moment of silence. In Japanese culture, those of lower stature would speak to others in the polite sense. Basically I had just told somebody of higher social standing to adress me in a respectful way, as if I were higher than him. After a moment Fang chuckled, and softly said, "Alright then, Edogawa-kun. Can I ask you why you've got yourself hidden in that hood?"

"I'm sick, Fang-niichan." I said, practically choking on the last part. I wasn't exactly feeling very brotherly towards Fang at the moment. I coughed, a little and added, "I left my mask at home. I probably should have brought it to school today...ne, Ran-neechan?"

"Probably..." Ran said softly, sounding a little confused by our whole situation. I was squirming to figure out a reason to get out of there as quickly as possible. She leaned down close to me and softly murmured, quietly enough, thankfully, for Fang not to have heard, "Iggy-kun, it's impolite to be so difficult."

"I'm just playing with Fang-niichan." I said, "Like Heiji-niichan was playing with me earlier!"

* * *

Dinner was hell. Basically I was sitting there, trying to do everything I could not to seem suspicious. I couldn't be suspicious for Fang, or he'd find out who I was. I couldn't be suspicious for Ran, or she might call me out and expose me for who I was. Basically it was a loose loose situation for me on both sides.

And if I was exposed here I risked exposing Shinichi. As much as I believed Ran had a right to know the danger she was being put in, I also believed that it wasn't up to me to tell her. Shinichi was the one in love with her, even a blind person like myself could see that, and the responsibility was for him alone. I would do everything in my power to keep Shinichi's secret, if only for the sake of the fact that I considered him a friend.

Hattori was, at least, caught up on the whole situation now. Shinichi had pulled him aside easily enough, though it had left me alone with Fang and Ran for longer than I would have liked. Now Hattori was sitting next to me with Ran on the other side. Shinichi would be next to her, and Fang would be next to him and between Hattori. (We were all at a round table)

"Have you known Hattori-kun for very long...Fang-kun." Ran said, stumbling over his name a little. I could hardly blame her, Fang was one of the stranger names we had in our little group.

"No, I hired him to help me look up some things." Fang said with something like a smile in his voice. I fiddled with my food, trying not to chow down like I usually would. This made me a little crankier about the whole ordeal as well, in case you happened to be curious on my opinion of that little matter. "I was curious about the sightings of that flying child here."

It was the second time that the news announcement had been spoken of while I was eating some food, and the second time I choked on something because of it. What the heck did he care about THAT for? Was he trying to find the Flock again or something? No, that made no sense..."He was looking for new members." I exclaimed softly.

"What was that, Edogawa-kun?" Fang asked me, I ducked my head and refused to answer the question. The table lapsed into a slightly uncomfortable silence before Fang continued, "Though it seems that the report was mistaken."

"That's unsurprising." Shinichi muttered in a tone that was slightly too serious for a child. He added with a nervous laugh, "Wh-what I mean is that...super heroes aren't real, ne, Fang-niichan? I learned that a long time ago. There can't be people who fly around because it would be impossible for them to get off the ground."

"It would be impossible, without the proper wing-span, Conan-kun." Fang replied. Meanwhile, I was praying that Ran would mistake Fang for some kind of psycho and try and get us out of here. Instead all I heard was Shinichi mutter something under his breath in a voice so quiet that even I couldn't make out what he was saying.

"R-Ran-neechan?" I asked, I needed to take a break to wrap my head around the shock of having run into Fang. Not to mention the fact that I was an instant away from screaming my head off at him for ever thinking he could replace us with some other bird-kids. I didn't even THINK there were more of us out there...I mean, sure, Dylan popped up but that didn't mean there was an underground world filled with flying kids...right? "Can I go to the toilet?"

"Sure..." Ran said, and I shot away from the table like a rocket. "B-but do you need somebody to guide you I-"

"N-no!" I shouted, cutting her off before she could get passed the first syllable of my name. "I can make it fine, Ran-neechan! I'll be very careful!"

Before she could reply, I ducked into the crowd of people. It didn't take long to find the restrooms, I just listened for the sounds of flushing toilets. I waited until somebody walked out to discern whether it was the ladies or mens room. (I happened to be a little lacking in the stature department since an unfortunate incident in an alley-way)

In the restroom, I ducked into a stall and sat on the toilet. Not the most sanitary of conditions to think in, but it happened to be my only option. I was seriously considering opening a window somewhere and flying away. Yet how would I explain it to Ran later? And if I turned up missing she might mention my name, and the fact that I was blind. It would be too many coincidences for Fang to look over.

"This sucks." I complained, to no one in particular. This day couldn't possibly get any worse...no, actually it could. Especially hanging around Shinichi. I swore to God that if anybody ended up dead in this place I'd beat Shinichi to a bloody pulp. I sighed, and opened the stall door.

"Edogawa-kun." I heard, causing me to stiffen instantly. Fang. Dammit, when did he show up? How did I not hear him? Curse me and my deep thoughts. I blamed Shinichi, for making me think of the fact that he tended to make people drop like flies when he was nearby. Fang continued, "Ran-chan sent me here to make sure you made it okay."

"I'm fine." I snapped, realizing a little too late that this wasn't something a little boy would say to someone he had recently met. I struggled to atone for what I had done, but Fang was kneeling in front of me. Which is kinda gross, might I add, since God only knows what has been done to that floor.

"I know somebody who is blind, and I know that it seems like people are trying to baby you a lot." Fang said, making me wince. So he'd been informed of that. Damn, if he found out my name I was basically screwed. Fang, at least, mistook this as a raw nerve about my disability, "There isn't any shame in getting help from others, Edogawa-kun."

Suddenly I felt ashamed. Ashamed, because I really really needed the Flock's help, but I was hiding from them. Hiding from Fang. I suddenly knew how Shinichi must always feel, not being able to tell Ran. In fact, he probably felt worse than that. I kept my face down, hands clenched into fists. I'd tell Fang, in a heartbeat. I'd tell him if I didn't think it'd screw Shinichi over...and possibly put him in danger. Because as pissed as I was at Fang...

He was still my bro. And I couldn't ever let anything hurt him...I was suddenly sorry for ever punching him in the face. Maybe I should have heard him out, tried to talk to him over the whole situation. After all, wasn't that the reason I was pissed at him in the first place? I was angry because he hadn't talked to me.

"Fang..." I said softly, "I want to tell you..."

"Eh?" Fang said, sounding confused.

"You're very nice!" I stated, forcing my voice up an octave and throwing my arms around him. (BLECH!) So I gave him a freakin' hug, which, if he ever found out who I was, I was never ever going to live down. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Fang-niichan! I sometimes feel dumb since I can't see like the other kids I know...like Conan-niichan."

Disastor seemed to have been averted. Fang let out something like a sad sigh, and I wondered what he was thinking about. Times like this made me wish I had the ability to read minds like Angel. As I staggered away from him he patted me on my hooded-head. "Alright, Edogawa-kun. Ran-chan is probably getting a bit worried about both of us. Let's get out of here before she sends Hattori-kun after us or something."

That's when I screwed everything up. All because I can't see. I freakin' HATE being blind, do you know that? If I wasn't, I would have seen the damned puddle on the floor. As it was, I'm blind, so of course I didn't see anything. My feet just slid out from under me and my head cracked into the side of the sink.

That wasn't the bad part, the bad part was the fact that as I reached my hand up with a groan to touch my head I felt blood. Fang must have seen this because I heard him hiss something through his teeth. "Edogawa-kun, let me look..."

"NO!" I shouted, trying to get away, but it was too late. His hand had pulled the hood away from my head, revealing my face.

**

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**

_**Yay! Iggy kinda-sorta forgave Fang!**_

_**But...**_

_**Oh no!**_

_**Iggy's in a bad situation, will he get out of it? What will Fang think?**_

_**I decided that, since the Flock wasn't going to run into him yet, I might as well throw you guys a bone and toss Fang at him. How's Iggy to get out of this mess?**_

_**Oh, and if you guessed that my favorite character besides Shinichi was Kaito, then you happen to be correct! I'm so glad that I decided to throw him in this fanfiction, it's the first fanfic I have where I get to play around with him. :3**_

_**My favorites from DC go: For first it's Shinichi/Conan tied with Kaito/KID tied with Takagi, For second it's Hattori tied with Ran tied with Haibara tied with Satou tied with Megure, Third is Kazuha, Fourth Mouri, Fifth the Detective Boys**_

_**My faves from MR being First Iggy, Second Fang tied with Max tied with Dylan tied with Gazzy, Third Nudge, and Fourth Total. **_

_**Gaaaah, my leg really huuuurts. T.T**_


	14. Cooking Up Another Case

_Disclaimer;_

_No, I don't._

_**Wow, I realized that this fanfiction is...probably going to beat my other ones in length.**_

_**It's not even CLOSE to the main climax! ZOMFG!**_

_**At LEAST twenty chapters, I'm thinkin'...**_

_**Em Phantom- Oh I get it! XP So you got to run the stuff for the drama thing? That's neat! I like to perform myself, but I bet it would be kind of fun to do all the backstage stuff. **_

_**Elena Forest- Yep, thirteen was unlucky because I found it an amusing play on words and numbers and situations...X3 Oh I know! Ayumi's rabbit! So cute :3 He is younger than her, which will be incredibly amusing in the future, let me tell you.**_

_**Ashimattack- Aw, but here you go with another update! So now you're not unhappy with my cliffie right? Yeah, the reason they are different than a lot of anime out there is because the series is old...as well as Gosho's style is different. But that's one of the reasons I really love it, is the fact that it's not like every other anime in the world. :3**_

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_Chapter Fourteen- Cooking Up Another Case_

Silence, I can't read minds like Angel and I have never wanted to as badly as I did at that moment. On the one hand, I had calmed myself down. I forced myself to stop freaking out, because, as I once pointed out to Shinichi, it just makes you seem that much more suspicious. Keeping a calm head in an ordeal such as this has a huge impact on the outcome.

So I wasn't panting, and I was forcing myself not to widen my eyes. Yet I couldn't say anything because I had no CLUE what to do. Not in the slightest. I didn't know if I should act like a small child who was confused by a sudden uncomfortable silence, or if I should just throw in the towel and come clean.

After a few frozen moments I chose the first one. "Is there something the matter?" I asked, in the most innocent voice possible. On the inside I was freaking out, but I somehow managed to keep my voice steady. Fang didn't reply, and my nervousness spiked a little. "Fang-niichan?"

"Just like...Iggy." Fang said, and I had to focus all my energy not to flinch away from the use of my name. "You're...blind as well...and you..."

"Little brother!" Shinichi's cry seemed to have startled Fang, his grip tightened on my shoulders as my new friend came into the restroom. There was an uncomfortable silence, and I could just imagine Shinichi's widened eyes. "Ah-le-le? Why are you holding onto my brother like that? You'll hurt him!"

"O-oh...right." Fang released me, and I ran haphazardly to Shinichi's side. I ducked behind him, murmuring a very soft thank you for his quick rescue. We weren't out of the woods yet though. Fang followed me to stand near Shinichi. "Ne...Conan-kun? You and...your brother don't resemble each other very much."

I felt Shinichi flinch. He had been using the brother thing as something to throw Fang off, and he couldn't deviate from the normal story for fear of Fang asking Ran later. I inwardly groaned as he said a little nervously, "W-well of course not! He's adopted into my family, ne, little brother?"

"Is it possible..." Fang mused, pressing his hand against my head. I struggled not to stiffen. "Could it be that...Iggy has a child?"

"WHAT?" I yelped, completely caught off guard by the statement. Shinichi literally toppled over because of the shock the statement caused him. "Wha...what would make you think that...Fang-niichan?"

"Well...I have a friend who looks just like you." Fang said, standing up straighter. For some reason I got the feeling that he had a hand on his chin and I could feel his eyes on me. Shinichi's initial shock had faded, and he had regained his footing. My eyebrow began twitching. "He's blind as well...same hair color. Same body build, hell your features are the same. He probably ran off and got some girl knocked up without us knowing."

Color rushed to my face, I was struggling to think of a way to say something without completely busting me. Fang continued musing to himself and Shinichi pulled me away a little bit. After a moment he leaned in close to me, "Oi, oi...does he realize that technically you would have had to have been ten years old if you had a child that appeared your age?"

"Of course I know that. It was a test." Fang said, scaring the holy living shikies out of Shinichi and I. Fang grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around so that I was facing him. "Why did you act as if the idea of having my friend as a father was embarassing...Ed-o-ga-wa-kun?"

He spoke the last bit by accentuating each syllable. I realized my mistake almost instantly. Still, I calmly patched it up. "I never knew my real parents. I was surprised that you would be able to know of my father, Fang-niichan. What do you mean by a test? Why do have to take one? Do I get a prize?"

Fang seemed caught off guard, and I KNOW. I KNOW with all of my heart that we would have gotten away, if it hadn't been for Ran. She was a nice enough girl, but at the moment I was seriously considering going out there and wapping her upside the head in irritation. Because just as Fang's hands let go of my shoulders she called out, "Iggy-kun! Conan-kun!"

"Eeeeh..." Shinichi said, backing out of there as quickly as possible. "We're coming Ran-neechan, hold on just one second!"

Fang's hand clamped on mine, and I was hauled practically off of my feet as he shoved passed Shinichi. I apologized to my friend as he fell down when we brushed passed. Fang dragged me through the restaraunt, and I struggled against him a little vainly. Ran's surprised voice startled Fang slightly, but his grip only tightened on my fingers. (Ow) "Fang-kun...where are you taking Iggy-kun?"

"As I thought." Fang murmured, somehow crushing my fingers further. I was seriously beginning to consider screaming that a kidnapper had me or something when he patted my head. "We're playing a little game, Ran-chan. Of hide-and-seek. Conan-kun is going to try and find us..."

"But isn't that-" Ran began to question Fang, but I was dragged into the crowd again.

Next thing I knew, I was in a hot room filled with confusing noises and smells. The kitchen. There was one smell that bothered me, something that was familiar. I couldn't remember where it was from, but it made my stomach churn slightly. It only lasted a hectic moment, but then we were both in an alley. Fang released my fingers only to place the palm of his hand forcably on the top of my head. It was an irritating reminder that I was now several feet shorter than him.

"So...care to explain?" Fang asked, breaking the silence that had stretched between us. I stayed silent, but noticed when he bent down to my level. "I'm not an idiot. I know it's you..."

"Then stop talking to me like I'm a little kid." I snapped back, pointing out the fact that he had been using gentle tones. "Talk to me like you'd usually talk to me...Fang."

"Heh...so I was right." He said, in a tone of voice that was almost contemplating. Or...even, damn it, amused. I ground my teeth as he finally got out of my personal space. For a moment I wondered if he had left, but then I heard him sit down on the ground nearby. "You seem to be...vertically challenged there Ig."

"Har-har." I snapped, crossing my arms. "You wanna know what happened? I was ticked at you because of how you left us, that's what happened. I looked everywhere, and I couldn't find you. Something you might not know, it's really hard to look for somebody when you're blind."

"What does that have to do with you being so...small?" Fang interrupted. I narrowed my eyes to glare in his direction. He only managed to irritate me further by adding, with a small cough, "You're a few centimeters off on that glare, Ig."

"I came here because I was looking for you." I practically spat out. I uncrossed my arms to fiddle with my hands, keeping my gaze flatly leveled in their direction I added, "I came to Beika looking for you...and got into a bit of trouble instead. I ran in on...on a murder. The people who did it are part of a very large, very bad, very powerful group here in Japan. They gave me something that was supposed to kill me...

"It shrunk me instead." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"You...ran into the Japanese mob?" Fang said, sounding a little bewildered, "And they gave you some poison...that turned you into a little kid."

"BAKA! If you don't want to believe it then why the hell did you ask?" I snapped, "It's not something I made up...not like the other things...like Conan being my brother. I would have told you...I...it's bad that you know. If they somehow find out then you're in danger."

"And that's why you had it in your head not to get Max for help, right?" Fang asked, knocking me hard on the top of my skull. I hissed angrily through my teeth and held my head between my hands. "YOU'RE the idiot, not me Iggy. Why didn't you tell me when you ran into me? It's not like we haven't dealt with guys like that before..."

"That's the POINT, we're still DEALING with them. MAX is still dealing with them." I snarled, "And I'll be damned if I purposefully dump my problems in her lap. If she somehow finds out like you did...then that's fine. I can't avoid that, but I'm staying away from her if I can help it. Enough people are in danger because of us as it is."

"Because of US?" Fang asked, I flinched.

"He means me." Shinichi said, his voice a complete dead-pan. I had to wonder how he managed to get away from Ran...and how much of our conversation he happened to overhear. "Iggy-kun was the third person to shrink because of that poison. I...was the first. The scientist who actually created it was the second."

"You're a shrunken person?" Fang said, "Hey...wait. I saw you, the other day, at the house Iggy was at. I thought I recognized you from somewhere...you changed the pitch of your voice when you were talking to me earlier."

I heard a click as Shinichi leaned against the door. It seemed that he would be taking no chances of Ran coming up on our conversation. "I went to an amusement park with Ran and saw some suspicious character. I followed him, and realized that he was trying to smuggle guns. Unfortunately I failed to predict that his partner would come up behind me, so I got knocked unconscious by him. I was fed the poison, and shrunk. Immediately afterwards, I attempted to return home. There I ran into Agasa, who pointed out that people who knew about that organization would be in danger, namely Ran. She showed up so suddenly that I was forced to come up with an alias on the spot. Hence me being called Edogawa Conan."

"Why would you follow somebody who appeared to be dangerous?" Fang asked, in a tone of voice that suggested he thought that Shinichi might have been very stupid. I felt my new friend's irritation spike, and he snorted a little grumpily. It seemed that Fang wouldn't be graced with an answer from him.

"Conan...that is, Shinichi-kun, is a detective. A good one at that, though I suspect that he has a curse on him. I swear to God, everywhere we go somebody winds up dead." I said.

"Not EVERYWHERE..." Shinichi replied in protest. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth a scream sounded from the kitchen. I stiffened instantly, turning an accusing look in Shinichi's direction. I knew that it was basically a moot point after I heard the door slam.

"Come on!" I ordered Fang, and we ran into the kitchen after Shinichi. That sickening smell hit my nose once more, and dawning suddenly slammed into me from all sides. That first case...it seemed like such a long time ago. "That...that's the smell of burned flesh..."

"What?" Fang said, sounding slightly apalled. Somebody threw up, and I walked forward to stand next to Shinichi. Fang let out something like a cross between a gag and a hiss. All I understood out of his next murmured phrase was, "What the hell..."

"It's a body." Shinichi said in an eerily unemotional voice. "We've come upon a murder."

**

* * *

**

"The victim is Kosuke Ayama." One of the police officers, a man I recalled to be named Takagi, stood just behind me as he read off the report. The police had barely arrived, and Shinichi was already underfoot. Hattori seemed to be prowling about as well. "Twenty-four years old, female, unmarried but apparently dating someone by the name of Horu Kyou. Horu-kun is apparently known to be very violent, we have been unable to contact him."

"He was a sick man!" One of the employee's screamed, overhearing Takagi's report. "I would believe him to have done this...oh Kosuke-chan! Kosuke-chaaaaan..."

Somebody led the crying woman away. I heard Hattori get up to go and question her, but Shinichi stayed put. I leaned over to him and whispered, "What, does the angry boyfriend scenario not work for you, Shinichi-kun? You seem rather dissatisfied with how the events are playing out. You DO realize that the police can solve murders without you sometimes, ne?"

"There is something off about this one though." Shinichi commented back, "Something strange in the way the body was positioned in the stove..."

"That somebody would attempt to cook someone else...alive..." Fang murmured, and I felt him shudder nearby. I was a little bothered by the fact that I wasn't as...I don't know, traumatized by the situation. Curse it all, hanging around with Shinichi was beginning to desensitize me. "Why...why didn't anybody ever hear her screaming?"

"Drugged." Hattori replied, startling our huddled group. I felt a little bad about forgetting he was there, but he seemed to be too preoccupied with the case to notice anything. "That's what I think anyways. There was an empty bottle of some sleeping medication near the stove..."

"So...so she couldn't scream?" I asked, feeling a little sick. So my humanity hadn't vanished completely. "Wait, if she was drugged then she probably didn't feel the pain...right?"

"There is only so much drugs can do to knock out pain receptors." Hattori replied in a brutally clinical way. I shuddered, "Kudou is right though...there is something that doesn't quite fit about the way the body is positioned. When a human body is burned, it's muscles naturally begin to clench, making it appear as though it's in a fetal position. But the heat from the flames shouldn't have been hot enough for the knees to be so close to her chest..."

"She's hugging them." Shinichi said, sounding slightly confused. "So she was drugged, but awake enough to know what was going on? Then why didn't she scream? Even in a loud kitchen somebody would have heard her cries for help..."

"Conan-kun!" Ran yelled, making Shinichi yelp and spin around. Fang and Hattori stiffened, and I just shoved my hands in my pockets. "Fang-kun! Don't take Iggy-kun away like that ever again! I didn't have any idea where you had gone, and it was very rude to just leave our dinner like that..."

"Even if it was interrupted by somebody kicking the bucket." I said softly, though not softly enough since Shinichi pinched my arm. I yelped, and stuck my tongue out at him in an irritated way. Fang softly apologized to the furious Ran. I snickered at him when she finally ceased her scolding to hover protectively behind us.

"Problem." Shinichi hissed softly, and I realized that this was indeed a problem. "Fang-kun just HAD to make things difficult for me, didn't he? Next time he wants to talk you should tell him not to act as if he's kidnapping somebody. Ran'll be on guard because of him now..."

"Conan-kun..." Ran asked, almost as if to prove Shinichi's point. "What is it you two are whispering about? You aren't thinking of causing any trouble...ne?"

"O-of course not Ran-neechan!" Shinichi blurted out. Fang snickered as if he found this predicament hilarious. Yeah Fang, real funny. The best detective in the room can't do his job because of you. I stuck my tongue out in his direction, only to feel the pressure of his elbow on my head.

"Oi! Do I look like a walking stick to you?" I asked, irritation leaking into my voice. He was using me to lean on, the jerk. Fang merely began to drum his fingers on my head. Really, what was with him? Did he ENJOY being irritating?

"I'll get him back for it." Shinichi whispered in my ear, before using Fang's distraction to get away from our small group. Ran began to protest against his using me as a stand, and thus Shinichi was free to escape from our unfortunate situation.

"Eeeh?" Ran said, almost as if reading my mind. "Where has Conan-kun gone?"

Fang's reply must have been wordless, I hardly cared. He wasn't leaning on my head anymore at least. I debated as to whether or not I should kick him in the shin for that, when I remembered Shinichi's statement. What did he mean by that? Only one way to find out, and that was to find him. So, while Ran was busy trying to spot Shinichi, I ducked into the crowd.

I found Hattori easily enough, he has a habit of talking very loudly. Though as I approached I noticed that he dropped his tone. Not because of me, but because he was suddenly talking to Shinichi. "So, Kudou, do you think it could be that guy?"

"While the situation seems to say that...well there isn't really any evidence." Shinichi murmured. I heard him walk closer to the stove as I stopped by Hattori. I could almost picture his eyes raking over the scene, trying to find every detail. "We don't even know if he was in this area around the time she was killed..."

"So we gotta find this guy and see if his alibi works out." Hattori said simply, crouching down next to me to check out something on the floor. I was beginning to feel rather bored when Shinichi made a little exclamation right next to me. I jumped, and glared in Hattori's direction when he snorted with laughter.

"What's this?" Shinichi said, ignoring what was going on with us in the background. "String?"

"Is that really important?" I asked, blinking a bit, "Why would somebody use string? She burned alive right? So it's not like they tried to suffocate her or anything like that..."

Shinichi didn't reply, which was actually a little annoying. I was wondering if I should repeat what I had just said, or walk away and pretend that I didn't mind being completely ignored, when the door practically blew in on it's hinges. Some guy had slammed it open with so much effort that the glass all shattered and several nearby people shrieked.

"Where is she?" The man yelled, and I blinked. Shinichi pushed me forward so that we could get closer to whoever was there. "If this is supposed to be some damn joke I'll kill somebody! I mean it!"

"You may not want to use your words in such a way." Fang said a little coolly, "Would I correct at guessing that you are Horu-kun?"

"Who the hell are you supposed to be princess?" The man sneered in reply. Fang said nothing in return, not that he truly had time to. The man was suddenly back into his furious state of mind. "Yeah, I'm Horu Kyou. Where is Ayama? Does she think this is funny, pulling damn jokes like this?"

"She's dead." Hattori said, in a tone that I can't really describe. Possibly bored, but at the same time suggestive as well. Horu stiffened so badly that even I could tell, and I can't see. "In fact, we were just thinkin' of comin' to get ya. Where WERE you, Horu-kun, around four-thirty?"

"Ay-Ayama is...dead?" Horu choked out, completely ignoring Hattori's question. Suddenly he shoved me to the side, to grab Hattori I can assume, and snarled, "No, you're lying! She has you in on this, doesn't she? Well tell her to cut the shit. It aint funny kid, and if you keep up this charade then I'll have to rearrange your face..."

"Horu-kun, I suggest you put him down." Megure said, a little bit of anger in his tone. "This is no prank or trick. Kosuke Ayama was found dead a little over a half-hour ago. Now would you be kind enough to answer Hattori-kun's question?"

Silence met his words, and Hattori suddenly crashed down next to me with a grunt. Horu fell to his knee's and burst into tears...which was...well, shocking to say the least. It's certainly not what I expected. I stood next to Shinichi and whispered, "Either this guy is REALLY good at acting, or he isn't the murderer."

"I agree with you." Shinichi replied, "He seems to be pretty genuine about his feelings...besides, like I said before this crime-scene doesn't add up...still, I have to wonder..."

"Wonder what? Aw, come on, don't trail off and retreat into your head like that. It's really freakin' irritating to everybody else in the world." I whined, still Shinichi was back in his head. Which meant that he basically just said a bunch of crap that made me curious as to what he was thinking, but decided not to deliver it.

**

* * *

**

Horu's alibi was NOT good. I think Shinichi seemed to question whether he would be the murderer or not. He had given me some questions to ask the man, which I was a little leery about. At least Shinichi would be there, I guess, but that still didn't mean I wouldn't get punched in the face for being blunt.

"Horu-kun?" Shinichi said, putting on his cute and innocent little kid voice. Really though, if you think about it...it's kind of creepy for a teenager to do that isn't it? Though I guess our particular situation is unique to what most teenagers would have to face in their lives. "Did Kosuke-chan...play many tricks on you?"

Horu paused, and for a moment I wondered if he'd just pick Shinichi up and toss him into the crowd or something. I wouldn't have blamed him, after all that was a very...very direct question about somebody who just died. Somebody that everyone else seemed to think he had killed. So I was a bit surprised when he answered in a genuinely gentle tone.

"Yes...I suppose you could say that." Horu laughed a little bitterly, "My friends all told me that she couldn't possibly really care for me because of the things she has done. I know that I probably should have left her...she once stole something and tried to frame me for it...but just when I'd start to leave she'd cry and tell me that she loved me. I...I could never..."

Poor sap. I was beginning to think that this Kosuke wasn't all fairy-tales and butterflies. She wasn't exactly what you'd call an innocent victim either. From the sounds of it she just used Horu as some sort of pawn to play a little game. Trying to hide my disgust I asked, "Did you get into fights a lot because of this, Horu-kun?"

"No...yes...I suppose." Horu replied. Great, how informative dude. Care to elaborate a bit? "She often would get angry if I would try to disagree with her. Recently we fought because I postponed our wedding...I ended up getting in a brawl with my best friend and I didn't want to get married without him being my bestman. So...I was going to wait for us to make amends."

"Ah-le-le?" Shinichi said, "You were going to get married, Horu-kun?"

"Yes..." Horu said, and before he could continue to speak Shinichi ran off. I let out a quick goodbye and took off after him.

"Could you PLEASE not just randomly take off like that? We're going to have to get you a freakin' tracker collar or something to find you eventually, you know that?" I snapped, finally catching up to him. Of course he had no reply for me, he was off in la-la land thinking of detective stuff. I threw up my hands, "And it goes over his head like an air plane, of course. I bet I could talk for hours and you wouldn't even notice..."

"Don't randomly take off, you want me to have a tracker collar. You thought the conversation went over my head, and that I wouldn't notice if you talked for hours." Shinichi replied flatly, "I'm a detective, Iggy-kun. Multi-tasking is a very important part of sleuthing."

"So why didn't you reply?" I asked.

"I chose not to at the time." Shinichi said with something like amusement in my tone. My eyebrow twitched a bit but before I could comment on that particular piece of conversation Hattori came over to us. "You figure anything out?"

"Yep." Hattori said, "Kosuke-chan was a bit possessive. To the point that she has her own utensils and tools marked in the kitchen. Apparently if she thought that anything of hers was going to be taken she'd get uncontrollable. She and Horu-kun actually met in group therapy."

Shinichi jerked up at the end of this sentence. Something must have occurred to him, but I can't even imagine what. He ran over to the stove again, and Hattori and I followed more slowly. I could hear the smirk on his face when he exclaimed, "Bingo."

"Figured it out? Is it the other cook-lady? She was awfully quick to peg Horu as a suspect." I asked. Hattori snapped his fingers and mumbled something about being bested again, though it was almost said in a way that I suspected it was some sort of joke or something. Shinichi didn't answer my question directly, just came to stand next to me.

"I promised that I'd get him back for you." He said, and I blinked in confusion until I heard the ping of his tranquilizer watch. Next thing I knew, Fang was tumbling backwards to sit on the dirty kitchen floor. "You're welcome."

* * *

"Hold up Inspector-san!" I yelled, blocking the doorway the police were going to lead Horu-kun out of. "Fang-niichan says that Horu-kun isn't a murderer! He's Heiji-niichan's friend, so I bet he knows what he's talking about! Ne?"

The group hustled away from the door and I joined them in the big circle that had gathered around my unconscious friend. I smirked a little to myself. Yes, there was a great deal of satisfaction in the fact that Shinichi was now using Fang as his puppet for his having used me as a lean-on. Heheh, hurray for karma.

"You think you know something about this case?" Megure asked, something about his tone suggested that he wasn't irritated so much as tired. I wondered if he was beginning to doubt his own skills because of how many times he got interrupted in his cases. That would kind of suck.

"Yes...I know a lot about this case. The fact that the culprit wasn't Horu-kun is one of the things I know." Shinichi said through his nifty little voice changer thing. It was kind of eerie, hearing him use that for Fang. "In fact I actually know who the REAL culprit is..."

"Well out with it, who killed her?" Megure said, getting a little impatient with the pause I'm assuming.

"The culprit...the person who took Kosuke Ayama's life..." Shinichi paused again. Like I've said before, he's somebody really into theatrics. It's like he has to impress the people around him even if he's not the one getting credit for solving the case. Though I suppose a select few really knew who had solved it. "Was Kosuke Ayama herself."

"Eh?" I blurted out, blinking. Not what I expected at all. "Shinnn-eeeh....Faaang-niichan that doesn't really make any sense. Why would she committ suicide?"

"All it takes is a little look into the personality of Kosuke-san." Shinichi replied, a hint of irritation in his tone just for me since I nearly slipped up and called him by his name. I coughed into my hand as he continued, "Kosuke-san was a girl who focused on one thing and one thing only...benefitting herself."

"So why kill herself?" Hattori asked, and I was glad that the other detective was just as lost on this reasoning as I was. "Sorry, Fang-kun, but that doesn't make any sense ta me at all..."

"It wouldn't make sense to most people." Shinichi said gravely. "Kosuke-san was incredibly possessive. To the point that it required therapy. Even while taking that she has her utensils marked seperately from those of others in her work place. Horu-kun, if she were to loose something she often became unreasonably depressed, ne?"

"Y-yes." Horu replied, "She lost an earring once and cried for nearly an hour. I couldn't even convince her to get up off the floor after buying her a more expensive pair."

"Kosuke-san was possessive of everything in her life to a fault." Shinichi continued, "Including her husband-to-be."

"Wh-what are you saying, Fang-kun?" Ran asked from almost the other side of the room. I winced, she was probably still looking for Shinichi and I when this little meeting had been pulled together. "Are you saying that...for some reason she thought she was going to loose Horu-kun?"

"You post-poned the wedding." Shinichi said, in answer to Ran's question. "She was afraid that because of that you were going to leave her. Not only was she incredibly depressed, but she was furious. She felt you were taking yourself away from her...so she decided to kill herself knowing you would be the lead suspect."

"That's why she would have gotten that new life-insurance." Megure exclaimed.

"That only further proves this theory." Shinichi said gravely.

"N-now hold on a minute, Fang-kun." Takagi said, "I can understand how you could theorize that this was a suicide created to frame Horu-kun but...how can one possibly kill themselves by cooking their own body in an oven?"

"It's simple." Shinichi replied, "All one needs is a skilled set of hands, some string, and a paper clip."

"...Paper clip?" Hattori said, and he snapped his fingers by me. "I get it! She tied the string to the end of a large paper clip and hooked it around the knob that would turn on the oven. By crawling inside, and shutting the door after her, she could hold the other end of the string and turn the gas on...and then light the match herself while inside."

"She took the sleeping pills in an attempt to numb any pain, she was probably acting a bit loopy and clumsy before the incident." Shinichi said, several of the cooks let out exclamations of realization, "Even drugged she had the ability to turn the oven on after herself...it also explains why nobody could hear her screaming and the position of the body. But the real proof is the paperclip and string found at the scene..."

"So...so she killed herself to frame me? She killed herself because she thought that I was leaving her?" Horu choked out, "Basically...even if I didn't do it..."

"It wasn't your fault." Shinichi said, "You can never think that. Don't blame her actions on yourself. It was SHE who decided to do this thing, not you."

**

* * *

**

"Nnnn...my head..." Fang said with a groan. "What the? Where...when did I fall asleep? What happened?"

"You've just been 'Sleeping Kogoroed'." I stated simply, I was standing over him with my hands shoved in my pocket. "Shinichi said that that was payback for you leaning against my head like I was some sort of crutch. I think he understands that being shrunken is bad enough without having people use you for unneccessary support."

"He knocked me out? With WHAT?" Fang grumbled, standing up.

"Iggy-kun!" Ran called from the doorway, "We need to be heading home..."

"Alright!" I called back, and realized that Fang was surprised. One of those feelings that I got again. I turned my head in his direction and let my eyelids droop, "What?"

"One quick question...why are you carrying around a stuffed bunny rabbit?" Fang asked, my eyebrow began twitching as he snorted with laughter. Still, I didn't bother hiding the little thing.

"It was given to me out of the goodness of a little girl's heart." I snapped in reply. Fang mumbled something about that being a very likely excuse and I felt my irritation mount. I turned and began to stomp away when he stopped me with another question.

"You're going to go with them? Wouldn't it be better if you came with me?" Fang asked, "It would be easier for you to be around people that you know you can trust...and you probably wouldn't have to lie to poor Ran-chan either."

"It's fine." I said in reply, putting my hands behind my head as I walked away, "I...I think that I can trust them Fang. Besides, I need to stay around in case that antidote gets cooked up...and I'm also still pissed off at you for leaving Max like you did. Where are you and Hattori-kun staying tonight?"

"Some hotel...are you sure?" Fang asked. I smiled.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

* * *

_**Chapter DONE!**_

_**X3 I felt it had been too long since the last dead person popped in for a hello.**_

_**So Fang is in the 'know'...**_

_**And he's also been 'Sleeping Kogoroed' as Iggy would say. :3**_

_**Reviews are loved...**_


	15. A Couple of Set Ups

_Disclaimer:_

_Not mine :3_

_**So this is a kinda filler-inbetweener chapter.**_

_**It'll be filled with all sorts of pairing hints and fluff, because that's what I get to do. :3**_

_**Oh my gosh, for about twenty minutes I could NOT think of Hakuba's name...not for the life of me. It was driving me nuts X3**_

_**The part with Dylan, Max, Aoko and Kaito is completely random I just realized...It has nothing to do with anything, not even the story later on...**_

_**Hurray for random MK moments! :D**_

_**Ashimattack- Lawl, yeah, Fang's gonna get a lot of one-upping done to him. Considering him dumping Max on her nose like that. D: I love DC, it's the best anime ever! -is attacked by the fans of other anime- Owww...in my opinion...-cries-**_

_**Elena Forest- Lawl, yeah, I doodled Iggy with the gifts from the DB on my notebook. If only I had a scanner again. -heaves sigh- Maybe I'll upload it at school, but I have to be super sneaky if I attempt that. :3 **_

**

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**

_Chapter Fifteen- A Couple of Set Ups_

Shiho's fingers moved rapidly across the face of her keyboard. Her mind whirled just as quickly as the letters appearing on screen, if not faster even. At one point she found herself pausing, eyes narrowing slightly as she took in the data that she had input onto the screen.

She shouldn't have been doing this. She should have been working on the antidote. That was first priority, and if Kudou were to ever find out that she had set it aside for this he would have exploded into a million angry little Kudou-pieces. Yet every time she started to work on the antidote those overheard words would run through her head once more.

"Why is it that this matters to me?" She asked herself. Her voice echoed thinly in the empty basement. It seemed even quieter down there, somehow, since it was night and the professor was asleep. Even if he never really came down here to bother her while she worked...It was so quiet that she could hear her faint amusement at herself. Amusement that she would be doing something as ridiculous as this...again. "Some people...they just never learn."

"Ai-kun..." The sleepy voice of the professor startled her somewhat, and the shrunken scientist found her gaze flicking up to the top of the staircase. Agasa seemed half asleep, and he was swaying just a bit. "Don't you think you ought to be going to bed? You've been at it since dawn this mor...yesterday morning."

His amending came as he glanced sleepily at the clock nearby. Shiho smiled to herself, the barest hint of a smile, and saved her information on the computer before quickly shutting it down. Yes, sleep would be good. After all she needed her rest if she was going to make sure this thing was safe...

**

* * *

**

It was only their second day of school, and Dylan had already learned a very important lesson about their high school. Which, basically, was to never EVER get inbetween Aoko and Kaito when they really begin to banter. One might think that it would be unlikely to turn violent...if they never met the two before.

"They fight like an old married couple." Dylan commented to Max, his eyebrow twitching slightly as Aoko and Kaito got into a heated argument...AGAIN. Some amusement sounded in his voice as he added, "An old married couple with a history of domestic disputes that is..."

As if to merely accentuate this phrase, Aoko whipped a mop from out of it was the male classmate who was the magician, Dylan had to wonder if Aoko had picked up some of his tricks somehow. He found himself wondering how she could possibly hide the mop on her person. It didn't appear collapsable or anything like that...

"SORRY!" Kaito practically sang as he leaped up onto Dylan's desk. The teen stood with one foot positioned in the center of Dylan's desk, and the other positioned in the center of Max's. Max let out something that was a cross between a groan of irritation and a snort of laughter. Kaito dug through the pockets of his uniform before pulling out a rather large rubber sword. (It was at least half as big as Kaito himself, which made Dylan marvel at how he got it in his pocket in the first place) "En guarde!"

Aoko's reply to this was to merely slam the mop onto poor Kaito's shin. The result being a teenaged magician hopping up and down on one foot while taking up the whole of Max's desk. The girl heaved a tired sigh and sunk down lower in her desk, as if doing this could somehow make Kaito disappear.

She got her wish, as in a puff of yellow smoke he vanished and somehow ended up halfway acrossed the room on another kid's desk. Dylan let out a chuckle of amusement as Aoko took a moment to realize the boy had changed his location. "Kaito!" The girl cried, twirling the mop in a threatening manner.

"Why is it you must always resort to violence?" Kaito asked, a mischevious grin flitting across his face. "It's so unbecoming of somebody...it's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend!"

"AAAGH!" Aoko screeched in reply, and Kaito just barely managed to duck before loosing the rather important appendage that happened to contain his brain. Unfortunately this ducking left the student in the desk wide open, and the poor innocent bystander, a boy who's name Dylan could not remember, was smacked in the face by a broom handle. Aoko blinked, "S-sorry!"

"Owww..." Came the muffled reply, as the boy was holding his nose.

"Aaaand, they're PINK today~!" Kaito sang, and Dylan blinked in surprise. The boy had...well, flipped up Aoko's skirt to get a view of the poor girl's panties. Aoko froze, a mixture of humiliation and fury flashing across her face. Dylan was beginning to think that Kaito very well wouldn't survive, not to mention the fact that the wounded innocent was still moaning inbetween the two as he held his head.

"Alright, that's enough." The teacher finally asserted herself with a bit of bleak hopelessness in her tone. Kaito grinned in her direction before sitting down at his desk and folding his hands in front of him as if he were some sort of angel. The flat look the teacher gave to him spoke her feelings about this without the need for words. "Alright, Suzuki-kun...Hakuba-kun could you please escort him to the office. We need to make sure he hasn't got a concussion."

"Should have moved..." Aoko replied with a twinge of guilt in her tone. She sat down next to Kaito and glared daggers at the boy who merely snickered at her from behind his hand.

"He's a pervert." Max observed, in a tone of voice that told Dylan that she was unsure whether to hate him or to be amused by him. Dylan chose the latter.

"He seems to enjoy life, that's for sure." Dylan said, leaning back in his desk to watch them. He was young compared to Max, way young. The world was always so new to him, but even he could see the chemistry Kaito had with Aoko. "I wonder if he even realizes that he likes her?"

"Part of him must, why the heck else would he want a peek at her underpants?" Max observed dryly. Dylan laughed, and ducked his head behind his book as the teacher looked his way. Amusement laced Max's tone as she added, "How is it that they can have a full-blown mop battle in the middle of class, and the teacher can't say a word...but when you laugh her eyes shut you up?"

* * *

I knew, instantly, that Hattori Heiji was up to something. I don't even need to see facial expressions to know it. I just did, and it was all in the sound of his voice. There was this quiet hint of mischief underlying his tone, and I couldn't help but wonder what it was he was up to.

"Just do as I say..." Hattori repeated again. I arched an eyebrow in his direction and crossed my arms over my chest. My stubborn look, I'd been working on it, but Hattori was nice enough to shoot it down instantly. "You can't pull that off like Kudou...you just look like a little kid that really wants a bit of chocolate."

"Why are you so bent on this anyways?" Fang asked, yawning as he leaned against the wall nearby. We were at the agency, though Shinichi, Ran, and Mouri were all out on a case at the moment. I had decided to stay behind, for once, needing a break from all the detective mojo-jojo. It was then that Fang and Hattori showed up.

"Why are ya so bent AGAINST it?" Hattori said stubbornly. I heaved a tired sigh as he added, with that hint of mischief back in his tone, "You do remember...that you owe me...TWO things, right Iggy-kun?"

"How could I forget?" I said dryly. "Fine, I'll TRY, but trying to pull the wool over Shinichi's eyes is hard. YOU should know that, Hattori-kun. You honestly don't expect that he won't suspect something..."

"That's why I picked ya." Hattori replied simply, "He'd suspect somethin' was up if I asked him to do it."

"You really don't think he's going to find it weird...if I tell him to dress up nice and sit alone in a restaraunt?" I asked, putting in a hint of sarcasm to the words. "Oh yes, that'll NEVER show up on his radar. I can see this scheme will work JUST perfectly, and I can take down the black organization all on my own while I'm at it too."

"Don't you think this is basically a waste of your time?" Fang asked, sounding ever so slightly bored. "After all, you were supposed to be back in Osaka DAYS ago. Can you imagine how much schoolwork you're going to have? Speaking of which...why is it that you aren't in school today, Ig?"

"Something about rats in the book cases..." I replied. Which wasn't true, I honestly couldn't remember WHY but we got a day off at school. Hurray for that, I didn't mind taking a break every now and again. "Or something like that...but Ran's school was closed too...I wonder what's up?"

"Holiday?" Hattori queried, but then he shrugged. "Eh, I don't really care if I'm missing school. I can catch up pretty easily. Besides, Kudou needs a nudge in the right direction every now and again."

"May I remind you that he is currently stuck in THE BODY OF A FREAKIN' SEVEN YEAR OLD?" I snapped, knowing how irritated Shinichi would be if he even guessed at the plan Hattori was probably cooking up. "You can't possibly expect Ran-neechan to see it in any other way than you being a jerk to poor Conan."

"Ah, but KUDOU wouldn't see it that way!" Hattori said. I rolled my eyes and Fang snorted with laughter. "That guy needs to pull his head out of his butt when it comes to that girl..."

"Do you honestly have any room to talk, Hattori-kun?" Fang asked, the hint of a smile in his voice. Hattori didn't reply, but I got the sense that he was incredibly confused by the question. "Of course, he's got absolutely no clue what I'm talking about. And he thinks Kudou-kun is hopeless..."

"Do you even realize, Hattori-kun, how much you sound like Ran-neechan's irritating friend?" I asked dryly. Hattori snapped out of his stupor at this, letting out a very noisy protest. I hadn't gotten to meet Ran's friend quite yet, but Shinichi had told me enough about her for me to realize that...she was rather eccentric.

A knock at the door interrupted Hattori mid-protest. We all glanced in that direction before I hopped over and jumped up onto the handle. The door swung open and I turned my face up with the most childish smile I could imagine, "Hello! I'm Iggy-kun! The detective isn't in so-"

"O-oh..." The reply was the voice of a girl who bent down close to me. "Iggy-kun? You must be the new boy that came to live with Ran-chan! I'm looking for somebody other than Mouri-san actually..."

"Eh?" I questioned, right as Hattori let out a choked sound.

"Ka-Ka-Kazuha! What are you doing here!" He asked, and I got the impression that I was suddenly stuck in the middle of something ever so slightly health-threatening. "Sh-shouldn't you be back in Osaka?"

"AHOU!" Came the reply as the girl gently picked me up and set me aside before storming into the room. I sat in my new spot, blinking as she added, "You. Should. Have. Told. Some. One. Where. You. Were. Going!"

"She's stabbing him in the chest with her finger everytime she says a word." Fang informed me, amusement lacing his tone. In a louder voice he added, "Oi, oi! Hattori-kun, I thought you said that you informed people that we were heading out? Or was that a lie because you found it too inconvenient to go back home and leave a note or something?"

"Ahou!" Hattori replied to the girl, using the same insult. "You can't expect me to be bothered with trivial things like that when an important case comes up."

"Did somebody die?" She replied.

"Well...no..." Hattori faltered a bit, and I couldn't help but snort with laughter as I heard something smack against his head. "OW! Hey, ahou! What was that for?"

"It wasn't too much of an important case then." She replied heatedly, before leaving poor Hattori to stand where he was in the center of the room. "Hello, Fang-kun. I'm sorry if Heiji dragged you into a case of his..."

"Well, no actually he came here for my benefit." Fang replied, laughing a little. "Oh, right. Kazuha-chan, this is Iggy. He is Conan-kun's younger brother."

"Hello!" I said once more, pouring on the cute act. I heard Fang snort with laughter and vouched to give him the most potent look I could possibly imagine when I got the chance to. Instead I felt a mischevious grin spread it's way across my face. Remembering what Fang had stated earlier about Hattori being clueless, I said, "Kazuha-neechan...are you Hattori-niichan's wwwwwiiiiifffe?"

"W-what!" Hattori gagged on something, whether it was something he had been eating or his own horror I could not really tell. "O-of course not ya little brat!"

Kazuha, who had been protesting as well, halted to snap, "Ahou! You can't call a little kid a brat! It'll hurt his feelings!"

"Yeah, Heiji-niichan!" I chimed. I could feel the daggers Hattori was glaring in my direction but he didn't dare to say anymore. I turned to face Kazuha, and asked innocently, "So did you come here to get Heiji-niichan because he was bad for not saying where he was going to be at?"

"W-w-well..." Kazuha stammered. Bingo, as I'd guessed she used this as a cover-up. Something told me that Hattori had at least vouched to call home while staying here, so that his parents would know he was safe. She came just because she was worried about him. Fang was right, Hattori was completely clueless.

"It's not like I didn't leave any phone messages." Hattori grumbled, confirming my suspicions. Look at Shinichi, there's a new detective in the town, and I get extra points because one of my observation tools is useless. Something struck me, and idea...a really AWESOME idea.

"Mmmm...Fang-niichan, would you mind coming with me for oooone quick moment?" I asked, tugging his hand. "So that we can leave Heiji-niichan and Kazuha-neechan alone so that they can talk about their important stuff?"

"Uh..." Fang seemed hesitant before following me into the bedroom I shared with Shinichi and Kogoro. I heard him whistle softly as I shut the door and he kicked at a nearby can. "This is where you live? I'll admit that it's better than a dump or something...does he make you guys sleep on the floor?"

"More comfortable than a tree." I pointed out, before sitting on the bed. "Alright, so we need to alter Hattori-kun's plan ever so slightly."

"Yeah, sure, but before we get into that...you are getting creepy good at acting like a five-year old you know that?" Fang said. I glared in his direction before he continued blatantly, "With that out of the way, what is it that you want to do with Hattori-kun's plan? I thought that you didn't really want to go through with it."

"Eh, he's right. I owe him. Besides, I have an idea that just might slightly turn the tables on him..." I grinned.

**

* * *

**

"The Mockingbird?" Shinichi said, "What is this place, some sort of club?"

"It's a fancy schmancy restaraunt. Look, all I'm asking is for you to do this as a quick dare." I said simply, "All you have to do is dress up nice and state that you will be meeting somebody at table two. Then just sit there and wait all night."

"I look seven, they're not just going to let me walk in the door Iggy-kun." Shinichi said, sounding a little amused. "I suppose you want me to sip on some champagne while I wait for this mystery date of mine as well, ne?"

"They'll let you in, if you've got the cash. It's family oriented, and I'm going to be paying the bill. I just want to know how people would react if they thought that a seven year old little boy got stood up by his girlfriend. I would be incredibly amusing you know, and I bet you'd get a cookie or two if you cried or something." I smirked.

"That, is not funny." Shinichi replied. "Fine, I'll do this. If only to amuse you, and because I get the feeling that you won't lay off until I say yes. It's probably the weirdest thing somebody has ever asked me to do in terms of a dare though, really you aren't that creative, are you Iggy-kun?"

"Oh I'm plenty creative, Shinichi-kun." I replied with just enough mischief in my voice to raise his hackles a bit. "Have fun waiting for your date, Shinichi-kun!"

* * *

"Blind-date?" Ran said, sounding appalled. Fang could hardly blame her, it certainly was an interesting way to spring this on her. Hattori had basically just leapt into the conversation with a vigour. Fang was thanking his lucky stars that Kazuha had been dragged off by a girl named Sonoko for the moment. "Why?"

"It's with a friend of mine, and I kinda already promised him you'd come..." Hattori said. Fang winced at the glare she shot at the dark-skinned boy, who merely managed a dry chuckle in return. "Now don't be angry or nothin' ya might really like this guy you know...but if ya don't show up you'll hurt his feelin's."

Ran looked torn at that, and after a quick nod of her head she vanished into the other room. Fang grinned, it was time for phase two. "You know...you really should get a table nearby so that you can watch everything go down. Just far enough away that Ran-chan wouldn't notice..."

"That'd be a brilliant idea!" Hattori exclaimed. Fang grinned to himself. _Hook, line, and sinker._ "Of course I'll have ta find somethin' ta wear so that I don't stick out...and not to mention the money..."

"Don't worry about the cash, we pulled plenty of it out of Kudou's account." Fang said blatantly. Iggy had almost been giddy with excitement as they managed to hack into the detective's money account, and though Hattori acted guilty Fang had promised he would return every penny. After all, this was an imperative set-up..."Mmm...you should probably reserve a table for two as well...don't look at me like that. I'll do it too you moron, but it's a fancy ROMANTIC restaraunt. They would be suspicious if you were to eat alone..."

"Oh...yeah I guess that makes sense." Hattori said, Fang breathed an inward sigh of relief. At least he didn't seem to be catching onto the plan. Now all that was left was for Iggy to track down Kazuha.

**

* * *

**

"You're supposed to meet somebody there, Kazuha-neechan. They said to dress up very nicely!" I said, grinning up at the girl with a bright smile. Kazuha seemed on the verge of saying no...for the third time. She was mostly confused as to why this was being brought up out of nowhere.

"Lucky~! Lucky~! Luuucky~!" Sonoko sang, patting Iggy on the head. I forced myself not to narrow my eyes in irritation at this as the girl added, "You can't possibly turn it down Kazuha-chan! Just think of it! A man, admiring you from afar has finally gotten the courage to ask you to meet him somewhere..."

"But it's probably not like that..." Kazuha replied, sounding a little embarassed. "Besides, Heiji and I should really be getting ready to go back home...and I don't have any nice clothes to wear here..."

"Why didn't you SAY that? She'll be there, twerp number two, at table...what was it, twelve? Got it! See you later kid!" With that Sonoko dragged a protesting Kazuha off in the distance. I leaned against the wall with a sigh. These people, they were all rather...interesting characters.

* * *

Shinichi sat with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and a scowl set on his features. He knew, just KNEW that there was something more to this than a simple dare. He should have attempted to avoid the situation, should have turned Iggy down and left it at that. Yet he hadn't been able to, because he had been curious as to what his blind companion had in mind.

It only made him even more suspicious when he happened to spot Hattori in the same restaraunt, only a table or two away. Shinichi narrowed his eyes at him, and Hattori only returned this look with an aloof shrug. Even if Shinichi hadn't been a mastermind detective he would have easily guessed that Hattori was up to something.

"Conan-kun?" Ran's voice surprised Shinichi out of his thoughts, and the shrunken teen snapped to attention almost immediately. Looking at Ran halted anything coherent that had even the smallest possibility of leaking through his mouth. She continued, oblivious to his almost humiliating state of shock, "It was YOU Hattori-kun tried to set me up with? What a mean trick! Conan-kun did he trick you into coming here?"

"Eeeeh?" Shinichi managed to stutter out. "Ran...n-neechan, where did you get that dress?"

"Huh?" Ran glanced down. She was wearing a very beautiful violet-blue dress that really, really made her eyes...seem so purple. She blinked, "Oh this? Actually...Shinichi's mother sent it to me. She said it was something that Shinichi would enjoy seeing me in...I hadn't gotten the chance to wear it yet so...it's a very pretty color, ne, Conan-kun?"

"Uh-huh..." Shinichi said, finally managing to cough into his hand and take his attention from her. _Oi, oi. Why is it that my mother would TRY to make things more difficult for me? _

"Is that...Hattori-kun at the other table?" Ran asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she glared at the Osakan detective. Hattori belatedly noticed her attention and only managed to make things worse for himself by attempting to dive under the table and hide. "So he DID do this as a prank. I'm sorry Conan-kun, I hope you weren't expecting some candy or something out of this."

"N-no..." Shinichi stammered, "Actually I was just told to sit here and see what the waitress would do if she thought that somebody stood a little kid up. That's what Iggy-kun said."

"Iggy-kun?" Ran asked, "So he's employed the kids now as well? Jeez...setting me up on a blind date with his 'friend' and making me meet poor Conan-kun here..."

Shinichi felt a little sick to his stomach as he watched Ran. She had dressed up so nicely, and it was a blind date? Did that mean that she was willing to look so nice for someone else? Not that Shinichi had ever told her his feelings, but it still made him feel unhappy. "Ran-neechan? Why did you dress up so nicely to meet a stranger?"

He was almost too tired to put the child-like curiosity in his tone, but somehow he managed it. Ran blinked down at him, a little startled by the question probably. She laughed, and sat down in her chair, "Well...I assumed that it was somebody I knew, actually. Since Hattori-kun said it was his friend I thought that maybe he meant Shinichi would be here..."

"O-oh." Shinichi said, ducking his face down behind the level of the table to hide the blush that had spread across his cheeks. Well, at least his mind was set at ease. But still, Ran was probably disappointed that he hadn't been there...at least in a way that was known to her. Shinichi heaved an inward sigh of exhaustion. As if this charade wasn't hard enough without Hattori cruelly hurling him at her. "I guess we better leave before we keep the space away from other people too long, ne, Ran-neechan?"

"You know what? No, I'll let you order anything you like from the menu. After all, Hattori-kun said that the expenses were payed for. Though I do have to wonder why he would be so willing to spend so much money on a trick..." Ran mused, mischief in her tone, making Shinichi's eyebrow twitch. Why did he get the feeling that this money was coming out of HIS pocket, and not Hattori's?

**

* * *

**

Kazuha felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Whether it was from being nervous, or completely humiliated and uncomfortable the Osakan girl could hardly be sure. Sonoko had dropped her off at the steps of the restaraunt with a cheerful goodbye, and zoomed off in her limousine.

_How is it that I make such odd friends?_ She thought to herself with a nervous laugh. Walking through the restaraunt had her cheeks growing pink as she watched the couples in the place. _There are hardly any people who don't come in two's here. And it has such an odd name for a romantic place..._

She was letting her aqua colored gaze drift around the room in an attempt to find the table number she'd been assigned when she spotted the last person she ever expected to run into in a place like this. Drawing nearer and hearing his laughter only confirmed her suspicions. Still, she was so shocked that she couldn't help but ask, "Heiji?"

"WAH?" Came the rather over-exaggerated reply. Her childhood friend turned around, spotted her, and fell out of his chair onto the floor in the same instant. Kazuha placed her hands on her hips and bent over the chair to give her friend a critical stare. "Kazuha! What in the world..."

"I'm meeting somebody here." Kazuha said, "That's MY excuse. What, did you rent a table all to yourself to be on your own?"

"You're meeting...somebody..." Something flashed in Heiji's eyes for a moment that confused Kazuha to no end. Her friend was suddenly standing up, and his face was so close to her's that she had to focus on not stepping back out of sheer reflex. "Eh? Who is this guy! What does he want with ya?"

"I don't rightly KNOW Heiji, that's kind of the point of having a secret admirer." Kazuha said loftily. Heiji's eyes narrowed even further, and he snatched the number she had been holding out of her hand. "He-eeey!"

"Ahou, I just wanna see what table...ya..." Heiji blinked at the number, something like dawning flashing across his features. Kazuha felt a rush of confusion as the boy's eyes darted from the number in his hand, to the one on the table. It was then that she realized...that it was the same one. "Iggy-kun...and Fang-kun..."

"Is there some sort of mistake?" Kazuha asked, surely Heiji hadn't been the one to ask her to this place. He wasn't the kind of guy that...well, did that sort of thing. Though she liked him more than a friend she was almost certain that Heiji didn't feel like that about her...that or he was so oblivious he was nearly stupid.

"Nah, it's a set up." Heiji said, the tone of his voice was neither angry or amused. Just something that was strangely inbetween. "And what the heck do they expect me ta do in this sorta situation? Oi, oi, if they were so against me settin' those other two up they coulda just made me not do it."

"Set up?" Kazuha said. She leaned in closer to Heiji, who stiffened. "Heeeeiji, I know that look. You were going to play some sort of trick on somebody, weren't you?"

"W-wh-what ever gave you that idea, Kazuha?" Heiji replied. Kazuha narrowed her eyes. If there was one thing she'd learned about Heiji, it was the fact that he was AWFUL at lying. He had an awful habit of tripping over his words when he tried to. It was a good thing detectives were there for unveiling the truth, and not hiding it, because he would suck at keeping secrets. He gave himself away by glancing over his shoulder.

"Is that, Ran-chan?" Kazuha asked, Heiji stiffened ever so slightly as she turned an almost-glare back in his direction. "Were you planning to dress up like Kudou-kun as a joke again Heiji? Don't, that's cruel. I know Ran-chan doesn't say it much, but it really hurts her that Kudou-kun is gone..."

She realized, belatedly, that this was probably something Ran wouldn't have liked her to be saying to your average schmo. Granted, Heiji wasn't an average schmo to Kazuha. Still, she felt a flash of guilt at betraying her friend's secret so easily. And just after inwardly teasing Heiji for being awful at lying.

"I don't do that ta be mean." Heiji said, sounding a cross between defensive and sad. "It's not like Kudou likes ta leave her like that, trust me. I just wanted ta do him a favor and help him ta make her stop worryin' about him all the time, that's all."

Silence, that was almost uncomfortable, stretched between them. Kazuha sat down in the chair across from Heiji and stared over his shoulder at Ran and Conan. Why the little boy was there she would not be able to guess, perhaps he had been part of Heiji's elaborate prank. Even now Heiji seemed in a darker mood.

"Ahou..." Kazuha said in a tone that could almost be considered fondly. Still, Heiji seemed to focus more on the word itself and he turned a face that was carefully nuetral in her direction. "She'll worry about him even if she thinks she sees him all the time. At least, I'D worry about YOU even if you were gone for only a few hours."

She flushed a little, realizing what she said. Heiji tipped his head to the side as he processed what she said. It always struck her as odd, the fact that he could dissect crime-scenes so easily but when he was having a conversation with somebody he had to work to understand what was going on sometimes. (Only about the things he was oblivious to of course...)

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter caught Kazuha off guard.

"Oh, no, we're just..." Kazuha struggled to think of an explanation to their situation. The restaraunt would probably be unhappy at the fact that they had just waisted one of their tables for a good fifteen minutes. All for a simple joke.

"Go ahead and get somethin'." Heiji said, running over her sentence while propping his head up by placing his chin in the palm of his hand. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and added, "Ya haven't eaten anythin' since ya left Osaka..."

Kazuha flushed with embarassment. How had he managed to guess as much so easily? Was she drooling or something? Or worse, was her stomach growling and had she somehow managed to stay unaware of this while it was growling? That would have been...incredibly embarassing. "Well..."

"Ahou." Heiji said, waving her comment off and leaving her feeling a cross between irritated and touched. "Ya said somethin' about tryin' this spice-rice-eel stuff back at home didn'tya? That's on the menu...why are ya lookin' at me like I sprouted two heads or somethin'?"

"It's nothing." She said, "I'll have what he mentioned."

She hummed as Heiji ordered his own food, in her own state of blissful unawares until he tried to pull her out of it. Even he couldn't ruin how she was feeling though, and she had no answer to his slightly irked question of, "What the heck has gotten inta ya?"

It was only that Heiji had paid enough attention to her conversation to remember what she would have liked to eat. It made her feel good, that Heiji would committ something as trivial as that to memory. So she decided to answer his question with a question of her own, "Why did you remember that, the spice-rice-eel thing? It wasn't like it was important."

"Ahou, ya were talking about it so it was important ta ya. Why else would ya bring it up in a conversation?" Heiji replied. It only managed to make Kazuha smile, and Heiji shook his head.

* * *

"That was a good meal." Ran's voice woke me from my slumber. I had somehow managed to fall asleep on the couch while waiting up for them. Fang was asleep on the opposite end, softly snoring away. It wasn't until Ran came into the room and stated in a cold voice, "Fang-kun, you tried to play a prank on me!" That he woke up.

"Eh?" Fang said sleepily. I smirked. Perk of being shrunk, nobody ever blames the little kid in situations like this. It's always the bigger peoples fault for being bad influences. After Fang was awake he sighed, "What, didn't you have fun?"

"I did." Shinichi said, in a way that I picked up that he was telling the truth. I smiled a little. Even if he was shrunken, it didn't make a guy not want to hang around with the girl he had it bad for. "I'm tired now though, goodnight Ran-neechan!"

"Good night, Conan-kun!" Ran replied, before beginning to scold Fang some more. I found this amusing, but shuffled into the bedroom after Shinichi.

"Did Hattori-kun's girl show up?" I yawned, plopping down heavily in my futon. I wasn't dressed for bed, but I didn't think I had the energy to get up and change. Maybe if I focused my energy on trying to sit back up...I somehow managed to get into a sitting position.

"Yes...I figured that was your doing." Shinichi replied, sounding faintly amused. "They made quite the scene, though I think Kazuha-chan was very happy with how things went. Hattori seems about as oblivious as usual though...not that that can be really helped, given who he is."

"Ah, then the whole thing was almost all for naught I'm afraid." I replied with another yawn, flopping back onto my stomach. Wait, wasn't there something I was supposed to do? Oh right, pajamas...crap, I was stuck in the warm fluffiness of my blanket again. "Except for teaching him...a lesson in not...setting you up like that. I would have stopped it...Shinichi-...kun but..."

"It's okay." Shinichi replied, "Aren't you going to get into your night clothing before you go to sleep."

"I attempted to get up, got into a sitting position..." I yawned, "It's impossible, my arms and legs won't move. Hold on...I think I can get up...nnnn...nope. Goodnight Shinichi-kun."

"Goodnight, Iggy-kun." Shinichi said, and this amused phrase was the last thing I heard before conking out completely. I mean, I was wiped. Remember I recently got over a cold, was kidnapped two days ago, had my sight momentarily restored, avoided the Flock, beat Fang up by using a temporary antidote that's even more temporary for me, almost shrunk in public, went to school the next day, went to a restaraunt, ran into Fang, encountered a murder (for the umpteenth time) and managed to set a few people up. Even for a bird-kid that schedule was pretty hectic, and I was exhausted.

**

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**

_**A lot can happen in three days. :3**_

_**This chapter was so much fun to do. I'll leave Kazuha's outfit up to your imaginations. Just picture that it was something pretty-darn beautiful. After all, it wasn't really Kazuha's showing up that startled Heiji so badly as how drop-dead gorgeous he thought she looked in what she was wearing. -cackles evilly-**_

_**I totally did that bit in Heiji's POV...at first, but I haven't gotten to play with Kazuha, and she's lotsa fun to mess around with. :3**_

_**Oh, and what's Shiho up to? -points at chapter opening waaaay up there- I left a few hints in earlier chapters, but if you guess don't say it in reviews. Just send it to me in a PM **_

_**HEY! I just realized, they went out somewhere and NOBODY DIED! HURRAY! That must be a relief for Shinichi! XP**_

_**Reviews are appreciated.**_


	16. A Hostage Situation! Part One

_Disclaimer:_

_Not mine..._

_**So I had an amazing day today...**_

_**First of all...LEE DEWYZE GOT AMERICAN IDOL! -cheers-**_

_**-coughs-**_

_**Went to Bozeman and got myself the first two volumes of the DC manga...**_

_**As well as my favorite three episodes, the Knight Baron case, on a DVD.**_

_**And I totally just RANDOMLY found the DVD. I looked down and was like, 'Hey look, Conan...HEY! IT'S CONAN!' -fangirly shriek-**_

_**So I was very excited and happy...**_

_**Plus I got the next book in the Warriors series, which just makes me giddy!**_

_**BTW...**_

_**I'm gonna do a Warriors/DC crossover...because I wanted to challenge myself to change up crossovers for the warriors series a bit. I may start it soon, check it out if you like that sort of thing. -winks-**_

_**Ashimattack- It depends on what I see first...with DC I like them both. :3 Ever read the MR manga? I LOOVE it so much! X3 But I might be a bit of an Otaku...**_

_**Aleathil Elendil- What an interesting name. X3, I'm so glad you like it. I picked Iggy because...I dunno, I wasn't in the mood to deal with Fang and I like Iggy best outta the series...plus he seems like the kinda guy who would just have things not go his way AT ALL. :3 I'm glad it's smooth. Yeah, DC has sooo many characters it's a little ridiculous, but I'm going to try and include most of the major chars. (throws Takagi and Satou into this chapter)**_

_**Elena Forest- Lawl, yeah, I love Kaito. He's comic relief-guy...I should...OMG! Epic future chapter idea, and you kind of brought it on without meaning to! -cackles gleefully- Here is more. -hands-**_

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_Chapter Sixteen- A Hostage Situation! Part One_

It was a cold day in Beika, the man had decided this as he stood concealed in the shadows of the foliage near the place. An elementary school, of all the ridiculous things. Really, it was such a pathetic attempt of 'him' to try and hide among normal children. One would expect something to eventually give 'him' away.

The man grimaced, fumbling with the sleeves of his dark jacket. Really he was a business man, a secretary. This was not in his job description. But working with these people...he knew that he had to get over any squeamishness, any regrets or guilt that he felt toward what would be done here.

Children could get hurt.

He focused on pushing that to the back of his mind. He had to act like ring leader here, that was his job now, even if he didn't expect it to be. The man hunkered down, shoving his freezing hands into the pockets of his jacket. He was joined by another man, one with pale hair and cruel eyes.

"Finally." The man said, feeling a great sense of relief. His comrade gave him what can only be described as a wolfish grin. The man surpressed a shudder in response to this, and failed. "What took you so long?"

"I had to round up my people, Cyril-san." Came the languid reply. Cyril shuddered at the way his name came out of that man's mouth. As if he were speaking of something he would very much enjoy killing. Cyril somehow didn't doubt that possibility, not in the least. "We know the target. He'll be easy enough to sniff out. Just give me the word...Boss, and we'll be on our way."

The word 'boss' was spoken with so much venomous scorn that Cyril felt a twinge of nervousness. If this man wouldn't follow his direct orders then all could be lost on this mission. And children COULD get hurt would change to children WILL get hurt. Cyril squared his shoulders, and watched as the amusement flashed in those cold eyes.

"I will say this," Cyril said sternly, ignoring the snort of laughter from the other man. "Unless he is to reveal his secret, yours is to be well kept as well...ALL of yours. I trust that you won't expose who you work for, as well as your true nature. Do not kill unless...unless it is absolutely necessary. That is a direct order from the top. If you disobey this..."

"We will be eliminated." Came the almost bored reply. The man cracked his knuckles, a grin of pleasure crossed his features and he turned those animalistic eyes on Cyril. "Then it's showtime, ne, Boss?"

**

* * *

**

More than a week had passed since our last case, the one with the suicidal cook as the victim. You would think that I would have been relishing in this, but after having gotten used to the dead popping up around every corner I instead found myself feeling something totally different towards the abscence of cases.

That was, apprehension.

I had the intense feeling that our break was just going to bite me in the tail-feathers somehow. (No, bird-kids don't really have tail-feathers. It's just a clever figure of speech.) So I was tense. Incredibly tense. I expected a double homicide to land in front of us at any moment whenever we were in public. I expected a massacre to unfold right in front of us.

It didn't help that Fang was going to Osaka with Hattori. I know that staying with Shinichi instead of him kind of hurt his feelings, but I was more than a little surprised when he announced he was going to be heading back for the Eastern city. His excuse simply was, "Somebody has to make sure Hattori-kun ends up with Kazuha-chan eventually. Might as well be me."

"We're going to be late for school." Shinichi said, finally beginning to loose his patience with our long goodbye. Hattori had been trying to put off his leaving for quite awhile. "Just because you don't want to do your homework doesn't mean you can use us as an excuse to waste time...besides, your train is going to leave without you."

"Fine, I see how it is." Hattori replied a little heatedly. In a more cheerful tone he called out, "See ya later, Iggy-kun! I'll keep a close watch on Fang-kun for ya!"

"Who's watching who now?" Fang replied in a bored tone. Then the two left to join Kazuha on the train. Shinichi and I had to run to make it to school, so little conversatin passed between us.

* * *

"You seem keyed up." Shiho's comment made me jerk a little in my desk. For some reason she sat next to me, which was odd since my desk was next to Mitsuhiko's and not her's. She sat next to Shinichi in class. "Perhaps you need a break from the city? I was thinking of asking Agasa Hakase to take us camping again...you could make that stew of yours."

"Oi, oi, you wanna go camping?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest. "Need I remind you...Ai-san, that the last time we went camping we had to run away from a psycho and you got shot? With this quiet streak going on I wouldn't want to risk something bad happening on a trip..."

"Quiet streak?" Shinichi asked, sounding faintly amused. "You mean the fact that there haven't been any cases lately? Do you think that's a bad thing? I'd rather not have to deal with murder everyday, and Mouri-san seems to be avoiding work all together. I count it lucky when somebody doesn't end up dead."

"That's not my point." I said, "I just get the feeling that because everything has been so quiet lately something big is going to happen. Something bad."

"Hello everyone!" Mitsuhiko said cheerfully, interrupting our conversation. I grinned in his direction and the young boy added with what I can imagine was a smile, "I read two whole manga last night! One was the new Yaiba volume! I was so excited! It was really good, Conan-kun you should read it to Iggy-kun sometime!"

"N-oo thank you Mitsuhiko-kun." I said with a laugh. "Manga would be kind of confusing to explain."

"Awww, but you can't miss out on Yaiba!" Genta exclaimed loudly in my ear. I tried to cover the fact that I winced away from that, and luckily the boy didn't seem to notice. Energetically he asked, "Oi, Mitsuhiko could I borrow your volume please? My mom said I didn't have enough allowance to get my own copy."

"Nu-uh." Mitsuhiko said, and Genta practically squished me trying to reach for the copy that I assume Mitsuhiko was holding in his hand. I coughed, and wondered how I could possibly shove Genta off and still manage to be gentle about it. "The last time I lent you my manga you got food all over it Genta-kun!"

"Aaaaawww, come on Mitsuhiko!" Genta complained, "I'll only eat a few snacks while reading it! I promise not to get the crumbs on the pages this time!"

"I don't think the crumbs bothered him so much as the jelly that stuck the pages together, Genta-kun." Shiho commented wryly. I smirked to myself as Genta let out another complaint about how everybody seemed to want to gang up against him that day. Shiho only replied, "It's not so much as ganging up on you as teaching you a lesson that borrowed things are precious. Since you cannot keep it forever you should cherish it that much more...even life itself is borrowed. Eventually we must give it up..."

"Oi, oi..." Shinichi and I said at the same time. Why was it that Shiho had to turn almost every situation into something slightly creepy and morbid? I grimaced in her direction to show that I had quite a bit of distaste for her dark sense of humor...if that's what it even WAS. All I got in reply was something like a bitter chuckle.

"Did you all enjoy your lunch?" Ayumi asked, coming up to us. Her mother had picked her up to take her to lunch at a restaraunt for some reason. Something about her cousin being in town...I forgot. "Oh, Iggy-kun you're holding my rabbit."

"Yeah, I thought I better return him to you since I have been feeling better." I said, handing the rabbit to her. Shinichi snickered slightly for some reason that I couldn't even begin to fathom. "Thank you, Ayumi-chan. It was very nice of you to lend him to me."

"Y-you're welcome Iggy-kun." Ayumi said softly, and I heard slight growling from behind me. I blinked in confusion, what was THEIR problem all of a sudden. Shiho chuckled softly.

"It appears as though Ayumi-chan has a thing for older men." She commented, sounding faintly amused, and I can only imagine how badly poor Ayumi blushed at that. Though it must have been really confusing at the same time, since I was physically younger than Ayumi was. I also think that 'Conan' happened to be her age.

It was so random, the way it happened. One moment I was having a good time with the Detective Boys, and the next I felt myself stiffen instinctively in my seat. Forboding crashed into me like a violent wave. My heart began pounding. At that moment I didn't have any idea what was wrong, but I knew it. Knew it with every fibre of my being that something was going to happen, and it probably wasn't going to be good.

"Are you alright...Iggy-kun?" Shiho said, something like...well if I didn't know any better I would have suspected a mixture of sympathy and concern was in her tone. I realized that the conversation had halted around me, and that I was gripping the edge of my desk very tightly.

"F-fine." I said, releasing my grip and closing my eyes. I was anything but fine, I felt wired for a fight. "Just...had a bad feeling all of a sudden, that's all."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Shinichi asked, pinning my lie down easily enough. I nodded my head. Everything had to be fine. I was just imagining things, keyed up because I expected something to happen. That was all, it was all in my head.

The teacher interrupted the flow of conversation, and began explaining the basics of adding numbers together. I sat in my desk, and finally managed to calm myself down. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what would have gotten me so riled up in a single instant like that.

The door of the classroom slid open behind us, and the teacher halted in her lesson. I hardly noticed, because suddenly alarm bells were ringing through my head. I felt something squeeze my heart, fear. I had known something was going to happen, and I guessed right. Because I knew what was in there, as soon as that foul stench hit my nose.

I know a lot of bad things. I've encountered a lot of bad people. But there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING that is as awful as the stench of that. I knew it instantly. Hell, I spent most of my life fleeing from those...those things. It was...

Eraser.

A few months ago we, as in the Flock and I, had been certain that the Erasers were terminated. What's an Eraser you ask? They're mutants, like us, only much uglier. (I assume, anyways) They are basically people who have had wolf DNA fused into their systems. They're killing machines, and they stink worse than anything you can possibly imagine. They are violent, and often not all that smart. The big problem with Erasers is that there is something faulty in the way they were made. They expire.

We once knew a little boy who was around Angel's age that was changed into an Eraser. His name was Ari, and being changed into an Eraser changed him from a small boy into a vicious man. Literally, he became a man after the DNA was inserted into him. I don't know how that works, it just did.

Erasers worked with the School, the group of scientists that created the Flock. Though I was pretty sure the School was done for the recent addition of Erasers seemed to say otherwise. I wasn't sure if these particular ones were with the School or not, there was only one thing I knew.

They were NOT the good guys.

"Perhaps you can." The Eraser said, and I felt my heart leap into my throat as he said, "I need that little boy to come with me to the office, if you wouldn't mind."

"Iggy-kun?" The teacher said, and I felt like somebody had touched me with a live-wire. My mind was spinning. An Eraser who was looking for ME. Not a good sign, at all. Besides that, Erasers had wolf in them, which means that they do a lot of things by scent. In other words, he can easily figure out who I hang out with...and use that to his advantage.

"Iggy-kun." The man affirmed.

**

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The fear on Iggy's face reminded Shinichi of Haibara whenever the Organization was around. In fact, he would have instantly guessed this, if it weren't for Haibara's slightly confused expression. Shinichi shared a quick glance with her, and that was all it took. She had no idea why Iggy was uncomfortable.

The man who was waiting for Iggy to get out of his seat was huge. Muscular, and a little on the hairy side. There was something in the way he held himself that had Shinichi feeling nervous. A kind of confidence that belonged to a predator...but that could hardly explain why Iggy was acting the way he was. Aside from that he appeared perfectly normal. His hair was pale blonde, and his eyes were blue...and strangely animalistic.

"Savage...like a beast." Haibara said softly, making Shinichi glance in her direction. "Iggy-kun, do you know who this man is or something?"

"Not personally, no, but I've met people like him." Iggy finally managed, and Shinichi noticed that he seemed ready to fight. Ready to attack the man.

One of the things about Iggy that continually amazed Shinichi was his strange ability to 'see'. Not see in the physical sense of course, but see in his own way. Shinichi had met people who were blind before, people who were born blind, and they didn't have the abilities Iggy had to observe even without sight. It was almost...almost inhuman.

Shinichi may have been mistaken for someone who would be close minded...but he happened to be a detective. Detectives are open to all possibilities, as long as they are physically possible. As long as they can be proven, and something told Shinichi that there just wasn't something completely normal about his blind house-guest.

After all, one had to have an open mind...especially if they happened to be a seventeen year old stuck in the body of a seven year old boy.

* * *

Realistically, what in the world does somebody do in a situation like this? Put yourself in my shoes for a moment. Imagine spending your entire life fleeing from beasts like the man who had just called out my name. My first instinct was to fight, or flight. It's the two things that have been ingrained in my mind from every single moment I spent running from the School.

Then I realized that it's kind of hard to do that, in a school filled with children. Oh, it wasn't so much my reluctance of letting everyone know I was a mutant that held me back, though it definitely played a huge part in my hesitation. No, the major thing that kept me frozen in the spot was the things I KNEW about Eraser's.

It would have been so easy for me to fight, but that would trigger the Eraser to fight as well. Which would mean some poor kid would probably end up being hurt.

I could have easily flown out of there. A spread of my wings, two steps to the right and I'd break through the window. Really, I could explain the whole bird-kid thing to Shinichi later...if I ever saw him again. Except...

Except for the fact that Eraser's had a very good sense of smell. The Eraser there...he would have easily been able to pin-point who I regularly hung around with. If Shiho and Detective Boys weren't in danger, Shinichi sure as heck would be. After all, he probably reeked of me since I hung around him all the time.

Shinichi had some pretty awesome detective skills, and I know for a fact that he can get himself out of a lot of tight situations...but he wouldn't know how to deal with an Eraser. I can guarantee that.

So what do you DO? I couldn't fight, but I couldn't take flight. Essentially, I was a sitting duck. No bird-kid pun intended.

By now I could feel the eyes of every student in the classroom on me. Curious, no doubt, due to my lack of response to what the man had said. My mind raced for anything I could possibly do, anything I could possibly say that would help me out in this situation. The teacher cleared her throat, "Iggy-kun, do you need help coming to the door? Usually you're so efficient..."

"I don't know this man, sensei!" I said, and it wasn't hard to fake the slight panic in my voice. "Ran-neechan tells me to never EVER go with strangers, ne, Conan-niichan?"

"Don't play around, brat." The Eraser snarled. I could hear the lust in his voice, his longing to tear out of his normal human guise just for the sake of violence. The threat was clear in his tone, and I swallowed hard. I thought, and thought...and honestly couldn't come up with anything that could get me out of this without somebody getting hurt.

Damn me and my self-sacrificing ways. I swear it has something to do with being considered super-human.

I got up and began to walk down the aisle of the class. I felt the triumph from that Eraser as I stood next to him, head bowed, eyes shut tight. So this was it, going quietly for the sake of others...and yet...and yet...

An idea was hatching in my head. There was a possibility, if I could focus that Eraser's attention on ME...get him into the hallway...it was worth a shot. I wasn't about to go down, not without some sort of fight. Who do you take me for? I fly with a certain Maximum Ride, and she'd tear my wings off if she ever knew I went with an Eraser without trying SOMETHING out.

"Oji-san?" I queried, copying Shinichi's way and making myself sound as childish as possible. "You aren't very smart, are you? You people really should have learned by now..."

I reared back a leg and as hard as I could I kicked him. Remember folks, I'm stronger than your average grown man. In otherwords, getting kicked as hard as I can kick...OUCH. Maybe not as painful as it would be if Shinichi decided to crank his shoes up to maximum and kick someone in the shin but it certainly get's the job done.

"Little shiiiit!" The man roared as I ducked into the hallway. It was a desperate dash then. I had no way of knowing where the windows were in this hallway, and being chased down it made things a little disorienting in the first place. I slammed into the wall, and barely spun out of the grip of the furious Eraser.

"Catch me then~!" I sang over my shoulder. Really, these people never learned. At least, that's what I thought until I slammed into the very living wall of Eraser as I rounded the corner. Arms tightened around me, squeezing me so tightly that I could hardly breathe. Pain flared through me. "Crap!"

"Let this one get away from you, Boss?" The Eraser holding me questioned. The response was a snarl of fury and I struggled to be let go. "Shit."

"Eh?" I asked, confused. What had suddenly attracted his attention? Then I heard the footsteps of my class teacher. I don't have to be able to see to tell you that she was two things, shocked and ready to beat somebody to a bloody pulp with whatever she could get her hands on. "S-sensei!"

"I don't know who you men are." The woman said, and I could hear the footsteps of every classmate as they came down the hallway. My stomach heaved. Dammit, they basically just messed up the whole reason I ran into the hall in the first place."But I know that you aren't the right people to be dealing with Iggy-kun. Unhand my student, immediately."

"Threat?" The Eraser holding me barked out in a laugh. I gagged as his breath rolled over me, speaking of which I was beginning to realize that I was having a rather hard time at breathing. "You would do wise, Sensei-san, to not mess with things that you can never even begin to understand."

"The police have been called." Shinichi chimed up, and I winced even further. No, no, and no. If there were two Erasers...well there were almost certainly more. The way the Eraser behind me stiffened only momentarily, and began to laugh only confirmed this thought.

"Goichi-sama..." My capture wheezed, "It looks like the shepherd has trapped the wolves...in with all the little lambs."

"So it seems." The other man, Goichi, said with a growl. I could feel his eyes on me, and grit my teeth in rage as he said, "You should have just come quietly. All of this...it could have been avoided so easily...now my Pack has to take them all don't you see? YOU are the ones who will never learn. At least we have not disillusioned ourselves into thinking we could ever be anything more..."

I was plucked from my capture, and my head was slammed into the wall. I heard the teacher cry out in protest. Pain, but a fuzziness too. My hearing seemed to fade in and out, but I didn't miss the end of Goichi's sentence. I could even hear well enough to place the cruel amusement, no, happiness, in that tone.

"...than a freak."

**

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**

Takagi was, he hoped, a good police officer. Granted his politeness sometimes got in his path, he did have a rather brilliant mind. He needed to, if he ever hoped to get the girl of his dreams he'd need everything in the entire world backing him up. A million percent, because there was something about officer Satou that was almost untouchable.

Really, it wasn't his fault. Wasn't his fault that around her he could be at his best, but also at his worst. He marvelled at how she seemed to make him have an easier time focusing on the smallest of details...and yet be distracting enough that he would miss the most obvious of clues.

"Takagi-kun!" Satou said, waving a hand in front of his face. Takagi jerked from his inner thoughts, embarassment showing by the pink that tinged the darker skin on his cheeks. Open curiosity, as simple and pure as that, was on the female officer's face. "That's the third time you've done that today, is something wrong?"

"N-no!" Takagi stammered, nervously rubbing a hand through his dark hair. _Only the fact that you might be dating somebody..._Inwardly the young officer heaved a tired sigh. Everytime he felt he got closer to Satou in some way...something would happen to blow everything to smithereens.

Another officer interrupted any reply that Satou would have had to Takagi, by running up to the two and panting hard. They were positioned near an elementary school, as back-up really. There was something about a student being taken captive by an unarmed man or something like that.

Takagi felt a twinge of something, foreboding perhaps, burst through him at the sight of that officer. "Whe-where is Megure-keibu?" The officer wheezed out, his eyes stretching wide. "The...the situation has gotten worse. It...the entire elementary school...every single student and teacher...they're all hostages!"

"What?" Satou said, and Takagi could hardly blame the officer for her alarm. After all, the Detective Boys went to that school. Takagi himself had become rather attached the the group of aspiring detectives, they were all bright children...especially that Conan. Determination flashed in those eyes, "So, we need to get them out!"

"O-of course but...Keibu..." The other officer blanched, unsure of what to say or do in the prescence of Satou's ferocity. Inwardly, Takagi felt something like a mixture of amusement and awe. Yes, one of the reasons he had fallen for that woman was her passion for the job they both had.

Yet..."How, how could they have taken...the entire school hostage?" Takagi managed to ask the question that had been burning in his mind. The other officer only stared up at him in miserable silence.

* * *

_**The ENTIRE school is hostage!**_

_**-cackles gleefully-**_

_**And who was right? Iggy of course. Never ignore the blind-kid and his hyper-sensitive premonition feeling thingies...especially when he's starring as the protagonist of his own fanfiction. :3**_

_**Reviews are always loved. **_


	17. A Hostage Situation! Part Two

_Disclaimer:_

_Not mine, wish it was. -sighs-_

_**HURRAY!**_

_**I love this fanfiction! Maybe that's something the person WRITING it shouldn't say but...X3 I really really do. **_

_**And I love that JP brought Erasers back in FANG...**_

_**Because honestly, they're just such convenient lackies to throw at the characters. X3**_

_**Mitsuhiko, he's so polite that when things are written in his POV it's all -san, -kun, and -chan following the names even if he's not talking. :3 So cuuute! -cuddles Mitsuhiko-**_

_**Elena Forest- Cliff-hangers make reading fun though. -wicked grin- Sure, I'd be glad to read it. :3**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- ZOMFG! He ISN'T a complete DB yet! D: Heeey, chapter idea. -tosses into chapter- X3 Daww, lookit you made something kinda cute happen. Isn't that manga awesome! I LOVE how Ig came out, all smexy and such...-grins- And now that he's in this fanfiction he's in a conveniently tiny and easy to carry off package! **_

_**Ashimattack- Being horrible makes me a happy kitteh. :3 Furuba? Did I forget to mention something about that last time? I freakin' LOVED that series! Manga and Anime both! -cuddles everyone in sight, changing many of them into flurfy animals- Ooops...0,o -cuddles animals-**_

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_Chapter Seventeen- A Hostage Situation! Part Two_

"You should have just come quietly. All of this...it could have been avoided so easily...now my Pack has to take them all don't you see? YOU are the ones who will never learn. At least we have not disillusioned ourselves into thinking we could ever be anything more..." Mitsuhiko yelped as the blonde haired man ripped his friend from the other guy's grip, and slammed his head into a wall. The small boy glanced over at his friends, feeling a twinge of fear that only came with the worry for the well-being of somebody you were friends with. "...than a freak."

Iggy-kun sagged, obviously loosing consciousness. Mitsuhiko found himself stepping forward, clenching his fists, "Let him go!" He yelled, and recoiled under the cold look both men gave him. The thin boy trembled, unsure of what to do. Yet he couldn't bring himself to step back into the crowd.

"Yeah!" Genta-kun's prescence made Mitsuhiko feel a little better. His large friend was boldly taking place next to him. The boy had his meaty fists clentched and he raised them up in a fighting stance. "Let our friend go right now."

"The police will get you!" Ayumi-chan added, stepping up on Mitsuhiko's other side. "Iggy-kun is our friend, our good friend. If you don't let him go you'll be in a bunch of trouble."

"Oi, oi..." Conan-kun said, rubbing his temples. Still the smaller boy stood next to Ayumi-chan and crossed his arms over his chest. His blue eyes were narrowed behind his glasses, "There is little chance of escape for you two. Even if you have Iggy-kun the police will be able to get him away from you. It would be better if you were to give up now..."

Haibara-san said nothing, but she still joined their line in front of the other children. Mitsuhiko was secretly grateful for the silent girl, and gave her a shy smile.

"Yes, that's assuming the police could fight us off." The man with the blonde hair, Goichi-san, grinned at them. Mitsuhiko could have sworn that he...that he had fangs. "Yes boy, you are correct. Having one hostage without a weapon to threaten them with would make it rather easy for the police to take us down...but having you ALL taken hostage...makes things a little difficult for them, ne?"

Out of nowhere strong arms lifted Mitsuhiko from the ground. Even Haibara-san, who Mitsuhiko noticed was hauled into the air just out of the corner of his eye, seemed caught off guard. Mitsuhiko struggled, but stopped immediately when whoever had a grip on him dug his nails painfully into his arms.

The children behind them started screaming, and Mitsuhiko was honestly close to loosing it himself. He settled for a silent whimper, but he didn't dare scream. Not when Conan-kun was somehow managing to stay completely calm in the arms of whoever was holding him. He looked angry, but there was something shrewd in his young face.

"We can't get out, Goichi-sama..." One of the men panted, "They have blocked all the doors. Things are at a standstill. They know now that we have the school under siege but...they say they won't let us out with even one child..."

"Did you tell them we'd kill the brats?" Goichi-san snarled, whipping poor Iggy-kun around as if he were some sort of rag doll. Mitsuhiko inwardly winced. He did not envy his friend in the slightest. The other man nodded, and Goichi-san bared his teeth like a dog. "Dammit, do they want some kid to die?"

"They...know we have no weapons." The man said, and something like a snarl crossed his face. "At least...besides our teeth and claws..."

"Shut the hell up." Goichi-san snapped, bristling slightly. The other man whimpered, cowering and looking up at him like a scolded puppy. Goichi-san stared at the group of children with his arms crossed. He walked a little closer and sniffed at Mitsuhiko as if trying to figure something out. "Ah, so they hang out with the Flyer, ne?"

"Smells that way..." The one who had been holding Iggy-kun said. Mitsuhiko shot a confused look Conan-kun's way, and he seemed just as perplexed as he was over the strange comment. Conan-kun caught Mitsuhiko's eye, and shrugged his shoulders in a way that seemed almost apologetic.

"So they must hang around him...we could definitely use that to our advantage...though I don't think they're Flyers, do you?" Goichi-san plucked Mitsuhiko up. Mitsuhiko whimpered, how was this man strong enough to carry Iggy-kun and him at the same time? He was holding Mitsuhiko up with just one hand, and Iggy-kun was dangling from his other one.

"The class can go into a nearby classroom." Goichi-san barked, "These brats and I, we'll be going to their homeroom where we can get nice and cozy. Come on you brats..."

**

* * *

**

It felt like I had my head slammed into the wall or something...oh, yeah, right. I groaned, and put a hand to my forehead. It came away wet and sticky, and I was aware of the color red being on my fingers. Blood. Sheesh, did he have to hit me hard enough to bleed? I'd probably be lucky not to have a skull fracture...

"Are you alright?" Shiho's voice startled me, and I jerked my head in her direction. Judging from the fact that I was leaning against a coat of somesort...we were in the room where kids hung their scarves, hats, and coats. I shook my head, and struggled to remember how you used your mouth to talk.

"Of course..." I said, managing some sarcasm somehow, "I always feel just peachy-keen after getting my head slammed into solid objects. You know me..."

"Why do these people want you, Iggy-kun?" Ayumi's tenative whisper startled me as well. I strained my ears, listening to the sound of their breathing. Everyone was here Shinichi, Shiho, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta. My heart plummetted somewhere into my stomach. Great. "Iggy-kun?"

"I...honestly don't think I could even begin to explain it." I said, the truth really. I had no idea where to start, and my head felt incredibly fuzzy after being slammed into the wall. "I'm having a hard time...forming..."

"Iggy-kun!" Shinichi shook me, and I jerked painfully into an attentive position. I tried to glare at him but the obvious relief he felt at being able to keep me conscious kind of made me feel bad and stop. "Don't go to sleep. You probably have a concussion...and a skull fracture. We have to try and get out of here."

"Where...are the Erasers?" I asked. The confused silence was tough for me to comprehend with my sluggish brain.

"Probably near the chalk board..." Genta said, sounding confused. "Do you want to do some nifty trick with them or something Iggy?"

"Eh?" I blinked, "O-ooooh, right. Hehehe, I meant something completely different. Erm, you know the men who grabbed me? Where the heck did they go?"

"You mistook men for erasers?" Shiho said, lightly placing her hand near the wound on my head. I flinched away but she seemed to be examining it so I kept still. "How hard did he hit your head, Iggy-kun?"

"Hehehe..." I laughed a little nervously.

"They're in the main classroom." Shinichi said, and I could almost see him crouching near the door to the coat room and listening. "They haven't said anything for awhile, but they're out there. They aren't happy that they can't leave the school, and were trying to figure out a way out."

"The police are here." Mitsuhiko said, "Everything will be alright because of that...ne?"

I couldn't reply, because in all honesty I doubted it. Erasers worked for people with a LOT of resources. The chances that I'd get out of this without being taken away were about zilch now. Unless I could find some way to get ahold of Fang, but even then I was basically screwed over. Why would they want me?

"Shhh..." Shinichi suddenly said, cutting off Ayumi who I had accidentally been ignoring. I winced, and listened as well. They were talking out there.

"Yes, I KNOW!" Goichi snarled, and I could hear that he was nearly changing into his big-bad wolfy self. Not good. Eraser's aren't exactly known for keeping their tempers. I didn't want to have the Detective Boys anywhere near one with claws and fangs out. "The boy is to lure HER, I understand that. I'm not stupid, but if we walk out the door the police will shoot my guys. This was supposed to be easy, it ain't my damn fault that the cops got called!"

Her, of course. It was to get Max out. They probably didn't think I was an original one of the Flock, but if Max somehow found out that there was a helpless little kid in the hands of people like that...she wouldn't risk the Flock itself but she'd definitely risk her own neck. I staggered to my feet.

Only one more reason to get out of this situation.

"The door...is it locked Shiniiiiii..." I broke off, sensing Shinichi's flinch. Oops, guess I was still a bit groggy from being knocked in the head. I rubbed a hand nervously through my hair, "Erm...Conan-kun? Is the door locked?"

"No." Shinichi replied, and in a lower voice he added. "You're getting to be almost as bad as Hattori with the name thing. Perhaps you should just call me Conan all the time..."

"Why would he call you anything else?" Ayumi asked, the kids had overheard the hushed whisper. Shinichi stiffened considerably, and let out a squeak that rivaled that of a mouse. The curiosity in the room seemed to grow, and that only served to make Shinichi tense even further.

"Erm...right, anywaaaay." I said, pushing passed the question with hardly any acknowledgement. "Listen up Conan-kun...you have your super-kick shoes right?"

"Of course...I happen to usually keep them on my feet." Shinichi replied a little dryly. I stuck my tongue out at him for that, and am happy to say that nobody got caught in the crossfire. His snort of irritation and mumbled, "Stop acting the age you look..." was enough proof of that.

"Alright, set them on the highest setting it could possibly go and kick something in this room at Goichi's head." I said, and heard the kids begin rooting through the stuff in the room. Shinichi let out a cough and I could almost picture him blinking at me. "Ai-chan, does he look like a fish right now? What's wrong with you?"

"Neh, more like a frog." Shiho replied, sounding slightly amused.

"Do you want me to take the guy's HEAD off!" Shinichi choked, "At the highest possible setting...that'd be like me firing a gun! It wouldn't just knock somebody out..."

"No, not somebody normal." I agreed, "But believe me, this guy is a little more durable than the people you would usually encounter. If it makes you feel any better I'll take any blame if it kills him."

"Oi, oi!" Shinichi replied, and I knew he probably wouldn't set it to the highest setting. I could only hope that it would be enough to knock the guy out. Because believe me if he got pissed off..."Alright, so knock the guy out. He'll be a little upset with himself when he figures out he's underestimated us..."

"After that Conan-kun and I will go one way. Ai-chan, you take the Detective Boys and head in the other direction, towards the door. Sorry for dragging you around Conan-kun, but I'm going to need you to be my eyes to get the whole school out of this situation safely. You guys, FOCUS ON GETTING OUTSIDE. Got it? Conan-kun and I will handle everything else, but we need you on the outside to tell the police what's going to happen." I said, sensing the Detective Boys getting riled up about being left out.

"And what is exactly going to happen, Iggy-kun?" Shiho said softly. Was that concern in her voice, or was she thinking I was an idiot? I couldn't really tell. Why did that matter to me anyways for that matter? "There must be some reason you would only take Edogawa-kun with you..."

Shinichi probably knew what she meant. And she was right. I knew that Shinichi was the kind of guy who wouldn't stop until the other kids in this school, the other people, were all safe. It was part of who he was, and believe me I felt like a jerk manipulating that particular trait. But I needed back-up, and Shinichi happened to be the best one to give it.

"We're going to take down every bad-dude in this place. Knock them out, and get em' all locked in a room." I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to sound stubborn. I doubted we would succeed, but we would try. "Believe me, I'll be enough to distract them from ever attempting to go after you guys while you run out."

"You're going to try and take down...every single man in this building?" Ayumi said, her voice sounding small and afraid. "Bu-but you could get hurt! They could get you...they're all so...so big."

"We'll be okay, Ayumi-chan." Shinichi said, trying to sound encouraging. I knew that he didn't think we'd be doing much good, but the chance of distracting people enough to get the Detective Boys out was something he would never pass up. "You guys get outside and tell the officers our plan."

I was caught off guard when the three kids tackled Shinichi and I. Both of us yelped in surprise as we were crushed in an involuntary group hug. The released us, and I felt Ayumi grab my hand. Something was pressed into it, and I blinked as I lifted it up. "Eh...wh-what is this?"

"Detective Badge." Ayumi said, trying to sound cheerful. "All of the Detective Boys have one..."

"Yup, we've decided that you're an official Detective Boy now!" Genta said. I blinked as he clapped me on my shoulder, and even though it made my head hurt I actually appreciated the young boy's gesture.

"Welcome to the team!" Mitsuhiko added, and I could hear the smile in his voice. Even if it was forced. I blinked and pinned the badge to my shirt. These kids...they really were something else. I doubt that there would ever be a group of children quite like these three.

"Well..." Shiho said, "That will be good to keep in touch with you. In case something goes badly..."

* * *

My heart was pounding, and every throb made my head ache. Still, the dizziness was almost completely gone by now, so we were ready to go. Everyone stood poised behind Shinichi, ready to run at the first chance. I was praying that whatever Shinichi kicked at Goichi would be enough to knock him out cold.

"Ready?" Shinichi breathed, and even though nobody really answered he ripped the door open. With a quick cry I heard him kick the object we found, a basketball that had been in one of the backpacks, and winced at the rather painful sounding 'whump' that came from it connecting with Goichi's head. The resulting 'thud' told me Shinichi had managed enough power to get our guy down. "Go!"

We bolted, Shinichi pushed me ahead of him letting out a sharp command when it was time to turn. I heard the kids running in the other direction, "Be careful you guys!" I hollered over my shoulder. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if they got hurt somehow.

"Do your really think they won't have a guard at the front doors?" Shinichi asked me breathlessly. I grinned to myself. Yes, if the main guy running this show had any say in anything there would definitely be somebody guarding the door. However something told me Goichi was too pig-headed to be pushed around by anybody normal. In other words, this whole operation was being run by an Eraser.

They aren't the brightest critters in the whole world.

"Nah, I think we're good. From what I smelled earlier, just before that jerk slammed my head into the freakin' WALL, I noticed that there were twelve...maybe thirteen of them in the hallway." I wrinkled my nose up, "That's barely enough for how many classes are in the school."

"Kami, I think I've started rubbing off on you." Shinichi groaned.

"Yeah, that'll be the day. A blind detective, don't worry, you won't get shown up by me. I'm just...kind of used to dealing with these guys." I snorted, "Besides, these guys REEK. If you had a sense of smell as good as mine you'd know how many there were as easy as anything..."

"Yes." Shinichi agreed. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before he said, "When you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. It's from my favorite book, and it's something I go by quite a bit, Iggy-kun. It's helpful...and is something that reminds everyone of one thing..."

"Oh?" I said, we stopped, crouching behind the lockers.

"That while a detective DOES focus on logic and science, they also keep a mind that is open." Shinichi said, "They keep their minds open to the possibilities that science has achieved something that they are unaware of...Iggy-kun...you aren't...completely human are you?"

"Wow." I said, "I could totally take that as an insult you know. If I were somebody like Total I would have flipped my wig over a statement like that."

"Eh-eh?" Shinichi said, sounding confused by my statement.

"Did you expect me to deny it?" I said, feeling slightly amused. "I chose not to tell you about that because it's something that is a little difficult to explain. Besides, you said that one day that we were nothing more than a set-up. Would you have rather had me tell you in front of Ran right then?"

I could sense Shinichi looking back, trying to pin-point the conversation completely. "The...flying kid? That was YOU?"

"I'm surprised you didn't figure THAT out. You found me the same day, the kid was said to be in clothing too large, and he flew off toward Teitan Elementary where they lost him. Maybe you didn't pay attention to the news announcement because you didn't think it was important? I dunno..." I grinned, "My goodness, is the great detective actually slipping up?"

"Oi, oi..." Shinichi's scowl was clear in his tone.

"I'm an avian-human hybrid." I said simply. I stretched my wings open as I spoke, and felt Shinichi stiffen. His final proof, I wondered what he thought of me now? Was I a freak to him? He was my friend, so I doubted that. I could just feel something like curiosity coming from him in waves. "Two percent bird, ninety-eight percent human."

"You eat more than anyone else, and you're stronger than you should be." Shinichi stated.

"Yup, bird-kids need FUEL." I said, "We have a fast metabolism."

"Which was why the drug wore off so quickly for you." Shinichi said, sounding as if this made perfect sense. I nodded my head and heard him murmur, "We'll have to let Haibara know...she'll have to see if she needs to compensate for your difference in race to give you an antidote."

"No." I said flatly, feeling alarmed. "Don't tell her. Not Agasa, and most definitely not her."

"Why?" Shinichi asked, sounding baffled. "I know she used to be part of the organization...but we can trust her now. Sometimes it doesn't seem like it, but I really think that...and why wouldn't you want Agasa..."

"Scientists." I spat the word, and felt a little bad. "Agasa isn't bad...and Shiho-chan really isn't all that...awful either. It's just...I can't Shinichi-kun. I can't tell them. I...I don't know how they would react. Would they want me to be a speciman? You can't tell me that Shiho-chan wouldn't want to take blood samples like crazy...I'm not a test subject."

"Calm down." Shinichi said in a soothing tone. "You can tell them both when you're ready. I know for a fact Agasa would be curious, but he wouldn't try and dissect you or anything. As for Haibara...I don't think she'd do anything if she realized it made you feel so uncomfortable."

"She's not exactly the type of person who can pinpoint the feelings of others." I scoffed.

"Yeah, but she's got you down pretty well." Shinichi's reply sounded amused, and I felt a flash of confusion. What in the world did THAT mean? "I don't think she'd care if it were somebody else, but you...yeah, she won't do anything that would make you truly uncomfortable. Believe me."

**

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**

Shiho sneezed, and blinked in irritation. What was this about? That was the second time she'd sneezed like that, was somebody talking about her somewhere? She blinked as she looked up from her bench.

They'd managed to get outside easily enough. No guards at the front door, really how idiotic were these people? But something told her that the main man wasn't pulling the strings. If that had been the case they wouldn't be here right now, not in safety. The Detective Boys were talking to the two police officers. They'd be enough to give sufficient information to the two. For the thirtieth time she found herself glancing in the direction of the school.

_I'm not worried._ She thought. Because she had only ever really worried about one person before. Her sister, and that only ended in her heart getting broken. _Iggy-kun...Kudou-kun...please, be careful._

"Wait! Stop her!" Takagi's voice snapped Shiho from her thoughts, and she blinked as she watched the long-haired girl striding with purpose toward the building. Takagi's order was in vain, because the tall teenager vanished into the school in the next heartbeat.

* * *

"Ready?" I asked, hand on the doorknob. Shinichi coughed and I wrenched open the door. The resulting squeal from all the students was almost amusing, except for the situation we were in. "Hey dog-breath! You seem to have lost track of one of your little science experiments!"

"Wh-what?" The man blanched, and I ducked as Shinichi kicked my shoe at his head. A thud followed and I jumped into the air.

"STTEEERIIIKE!" I hollered, giving Shinichi a quick five. As we turned to run out I hollered, "Everybody out of the school! Just drop everything and go. Shut the door behind him on your way out!"

It was the sixth guy we'd knocked out, and I was surprised that nobody had suspected anything yet. As soon as this came to my attention I heard several doors slide open at once. I winced, maybe screaming 'strike' after we clocked the last guy wasn't the best idea in the world.

"Two of them are running at you." Shinichi said, "They plan on catching you in the middle."

"Turn your shoes on." I said, and as soon as I heard the clicking noise that came from him twisting the small dial I grabbed him by the wrists. He yelped and I ordered, "When I spin you kick as hard as you can, got it?"

I spun, and heard a yelp of pain come from the Eraser as both of Shinichi's super-powered feet slammed into his gut. That, coupled with the power of my swing, made for one nasty gut-shot. He must have been slammed into the other guy because I heard them both go down. The crack of their heads on linoleum was enough to tell me they were down and out.

"Eight down, four to go." Shinichi panted. "I actually think we can do this Iggy-kun!"

"Don't be so sure, brat." Goichi's snarl made us freeze. How the HELL did they sneak up on us. I spun around, and tensed up when Shinichi let out a yelp. "Move and I'll snap his little neck. Don't for one second think I won't do it either..."

I froze, my heart pounding. I heard running down the halls, people were getting out at least. Soon it was just Shinichi, Goichi, his lackies, and I standing in the hallway. I felt like my stomach was doing somersaults. Goichi laughed cruelly, "Alright then, you come quietly now or..."

"Boss!" Came the warning, cut off as a woosh of air escaped this particular Eraser's mouth. Three more thuds followed this, and I blinked in utter amazement. Who...what?

"Put him down, NOW." Ran, the last person I ever expected to hear, was there. Her voice was potent, the threat in it was something that would have made ME crap my pants if I was facing it. Goichi though, obviously isn't very smart. He only laughed.

I know that Eraser's are stronger than people.

Believe me, I've faced them enough to get that.

But when Ran is PISSED? Dude, she's a regional karate champion! I would NOT recommend ticking her off!

I should have given Goichi more credit though, because I heard Shinichi yelp with surprise and Ran leap forward and slam into the wall. Goichi had THROWN Shinichi, in an obvious attempt to get Ran's attention. Which he succeeded in. A hand closed on the collar of my shirt and I was hauled into the air.

He booked down the hall, we made several turns until we slammed through a door and into a stairway. We were going up. I found myself grinning. Really, this guy was a complete and total moron...

We burst onto the rooftop the next instant, and as soon as that happened I snapped open my wings. Goichi yelped in suprise as I kicked him in the chest, having enough leverage using my wings to keep me in the air. I flew up high, and then dove down to the ground below.

Bushes broke my fall, and I managed to stumble out a little dizzily. I grabbed for my badge, "Shinichi!" I yelled into it.

"BAKA!" Came the snapped reply that was almost a whisper but somehow a yell at the same time. "Ran's practically standing right next to me, what is your problem? Where ARE you? Did you get away from Goichi?"

"Yeah..." I coughed, I heard a helicopter and cowered down into the bush I was sitting in. "I don't think he's on the roof anymore though...they're probably taking him away."

"A bunch of the other's are in custody." Shinichi said, keeping his voice down, "Where are you now? You were taken up onto the roof?"

"I'm not there anymore. I'm outside the school in some bushes." I winced as a stick pricked me in the side. "I don't think anybody saw me...well, nobody has come over here and started asking me about the fact that I have wings or anything like that quite yet so I'm ASSUMING nobody saw me."

**

* * *

**

Takagi felt badly for Ran, even though he had to drag her out of there. (A scary feat, since she was so keyed up in the first place) She seemed distraught, and wanted to run up and get the new little boy that had started living with her. Takagi remembered the helicopter coming and taking one of the perps away.

He probably had Iggy-kun with him.

"You tried your best..." Takagi said flatly. Ran turned her head away, looking upset with herself. Conan's face was carefully nuetral as he fiddled with the end of his jacket.

"Ooooi!" The voice startled them, and every head turned to see...Iggy. The small boy seemed a little irritated, and was covered in sticks. "I'm a BLIND kid over here! I can't see where the heck I'm going!"

"Iggy-kun!" Ran said, and scooped the boy up. Takagi noticed the boy's face darken in color slightly and Conan let out a jealous sounding snort. Takagi felt a flash of amusement at that. "You...you're alright? How did you get away?"

"Whe-when we rounded a corner my shirt tore..." Iggy pointed to the torn collar on the back of his shirt. The boy seemed nervous for some reason. "One of the windows was open and I happened to roll out of it...the bushes below broke my fall so I wasn't hurt or anything Ran-neechan."

"Thank goodness..." Ran breathed, but Takagi narrowed his eyes. They found Ran and Conan on the second floor. That was a pretty long fall...

"Takagi-kun!" Satou caught his attention, tearing it from the strange 'family'. The young police officer was breathing hard, "We need to hurry up and get that report done! Come on!"

"Oh-oh...right!" Takagi said, and gave the group a quick farewell. They were an odd group to be sure.

* * *

_**End of the chapter...**_

_**So everybody is safe because Iggy and Shinichi make a rockin' team. :3**_

_**And Shinichi knows about the bird-kid stuffs! How much do you wanna bet he'll be asking a butt-load of questions now? Poor Iggy won't get a wink of sleep. X3**_


	18. The Thief at the Window

_Disclaimer:_

_If I owned it...oh if I owned it. -smiles wistfully-_

_**I hope you all will like this chapter...**_

_**Because REALLY you didn't expect me to have Kaito in here but NOT have a Kid Heist? X3**_

_**Plus, Iggy deserves a bit of a break. -sets him aside- He won't be appearing much in this chapter, but I hope the rest of it will be amusing/exciting enough for you to enjoy the chapter.**_

_**Ashimattack- Eh? What, I never mentioned that? I'm sorry! X3 Basically Ran is a karate champion, it happens to be one of the things I completely adore about her. In FACT the whole reason she and Shinichi ended up going to Tropical Land (the theme park Shinichi ended up getting shrunken down at) was because Shinichi had promised her that if she won the championship he would celebrate by taking her there. :3 The super-kick shoes are Shinichi/Conan's most valuable nifty gadget thing created by Agasa. Shinichi, in case I didn't mention it earlier, happens to be super good at soccer. As such he used to use his soccer skills to take down baddies. Unfortunately when he shrunk he didn't have enough strength in his little-kid body to effectively take people out by kicking things at them. Thus came the invention of the super-kick shoes, which stimulate the muscles in his feet. He's even managed to kick a tire into a guy's face using those bad boys, they're pretty strong. X3 I hope that I explained Kaito's situation well enough for you in this next chapter, if you get confused feel free to ask any questions.**_

_**ElenaForest- Lawl, I'm glad you found it amusing. Yeah, having the same plot would kinda be bad. -.-u I'm through the first half of my first chapter on that, but I hit a bit of a road-block with it. -coughs- Yeah, I'm glad Shinichi knows everything now too. X3 Makes for some fun banter in the future and stuff...**_

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_Chapter Eighteen- The Thief at the Window_

Two weeks, it was how long the school was shut down for after the hostage incident. One week had practically flown by, but I still found myself strangely itching for the distracting droll of questions. Even if I was ages ahead of them, even if I couldn't see and thus got confused on things that I was supposed to already have down...it was better than the endurance of a curious Kudou Shinichi.

Every moment. Every single freakin' moment alone with that shrunken snoop was filled with questions. Queries. The only thing that kept me from tearing Shinichi's head off every time he brought my past up was the fact that he always HESITATED before asking them. So then I'd feel bad and look like the grump if I snapped at him for it.

Stupid miniscule snitch making me feel guilty.

It came to the point that I was literally praying for a case, not a murder, I wasn't THAT desperate, but something that would distract him from me for even the littlest bit. It was one sleepy afternoon that this prayer was answered. Shinichi entered the room, and I automatically stiffened. Kogoro was passed out downstairs in the office, so we were alone. Which, in my mind, meant I was going to be asked questions about running from the School...again.

Then I noticed Shinichi's mood. He was excited about something and he tapped me on the head twice with a rolled up news paper. I could hear the grin in his voice, "Guess what."

I arched an eyebrow. Shinichi wasn't the type of person that was...excitable. There was a clear note of adrenaline in his voice, and determination. As if a challenge that he was longing for was being tossed his way. I wondered at guessing, thought of possibly putting it off before heaving a sigh, "What?"

"Kaitou Kid has a heist tonight." Shinichi said, and then I noticed that he stopped walking around. "I wish I had been informed of it earlier...I doubt the police have figured out the date yet really, or even what he's going to steal. This code was a bit harder than the other's to deceipher...I still haven't figured out exactly what time he'll show up..."

"That's...nice?" I said, in all honesty I didn't have the slightest clue about what he was talking about. Still, I saw it as my saving grace. Whoever you are Kaitou Kid, thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times thank you! "So you're going to to go this...erm, heist thing?"

"Yes, I can't let him steal that jewel." Shinichi replied in a distracted tone. I snorted in amusement and then flinched as he walked over to me, "Can you help me with this?"

"What? You want me to try and figure out your creepy code thingy? I doubt it, you just want to read it aloud so you can show off how clever you are." I said, rolling my eyes. I cut Shinichi off, it was obvious by his irritated snort as I continued speaking. "Really what do you think I could possibly do with a code YOU can't figure out Shinichi-kun? Nothing, that's what. You owe me anyways, I don't want to hear it, it'll only confuse me."

"But..." Shinichi sounded confused and a little wounded, but I'd turned my back to him and was getting the headphones to my iPod. "What do you mean I owe you?"

"Endless questions nonstop?" I replied, narrowing my eyes in mock disgust. Shinichi let out a sheepish laugh and I casually placed the earbuds in my ears, "I'm not going to your little heist anyways...so I don't need to listen to that confusing code..."

His disappointment was rather depressing. I wondered if he realized how much he reminded me of a little brother right now? Which was kind of ridiculous, since he was older than me by at least two years.

"I'll listen to the details when you get back..." I relented, half expecting him to squeal for joy like a little fangirl. Instead he only remained silent, then let out a sheepish laugh. "What?"

"I was nodding..." He said. I rolled my eyes, and turned my music on.

**

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**

Kuroba Kaito was certain that he had what could be considered the coolest night job in the entire world. Well...except maybe a super hero's...Okay, so he had the coolest night job in the entire world that actually EXISTED. You couldn't really count being a super hero since his line of work was practically the opposite anyways.

By day he was Kuroba Kaito, high school student of seventeen years. A normal teenager who had an aggressive but exciting relationship with one Nakomori Aoko. A boy who aspired to become a magician and travel the world.

But by night...

He became Kaitou Kid. Phantom Thief KID. A legend, a ghost. The thief police couldn't catch. The phantom who could disguise himself as anyone, even mimic their voices with terrifying accuracy.

Kaito grinned in the darkness, a flash of white teeth in the black of night. He wasn't in his Kid garb quite yet, he had to make sure everything would go the way he wanted it to. As much as he would have liked to brag it wasn't natural luck that got him out of the clutches of police every time. Heists took very careful planning, though throwing in the random spontaneous moment did make for a little bit of adventure.

Perhaps it should be explained in finer detail, the reasons Kaito's life was the way it was.

The truth was, he was not the original Kaitou Kid. He was, in fact, the second, though the world itself could hardly know that for sure.

The first Kaitou Kid was a famous thief. His tricks and ways of evading the police seemed to be created for the purpose of entertainment. To bring joy to the audiences that were so very fascinated with him. Strangely...he vanished without a trace. The heists just stopped. Nobody in the world knew why.

Except for Kuroba Kaito.

The first Kaitou Kid...had been his father, Kuroba Toichi. Toichi was the best father Kaito could ever have hoped for. The man had taught him so many important lessons in his life, the most memorable being his poker-face. A magician's greatest weapon was a poker-face, you couldn't let your audience know what you were thinking or the magic would be spoiled. Toichi had died...in an accident on stage...or so it had seemed.

Kaito had discovered otherwise, a while after discovering his father had been the famous phantom thief, that his father had been murdered. An organization came to his father with a request, a request that he steal a jewel. A legendary jewel known as Pandora's Gem, among other names. This gem was said to shine red under the full moon, and cry tears that would grant the person who drank them immortality. Kaito's father had refused to find and steal this gem for that organization, so they murdered him.

So it came to Kaito.

He stole, because he had to find Pandora's Gem. He had to find that legend and destroy it. Because if he didn't it would fall into the hands of the bastards that had killed his father, and he couldn't have that. But it wasn't just to get the gem that had Kaito stealing, had this teen planning heist after heist. It was the tantalizing thought that he could run into that organization...and make them pay for stealing his father's life.

It was a habit now. Kid would show up at a heist, he would steal a jewel, and after the next full moon that jewel would be returned. Kaito had lost track of how many times he'd done a heist, how many times he'd stolen only to return it later. He wasn't the type that was discouraged by a lack of success...luckily.

It probably helped that he actually enjoyed it. He knew, somewhere in his heart, that it wasn't something he should really enjoy doing. But the mystery of it was tempting, the adrenaline was addicting. The excitement and fast-paced suspense...and of course there were his favorite critics.

The shrunken Kudou Shinichi, one of his personal favorites. The small boy he often called "Tantei-san", Mr. Detective. He always enjoyed his heists involving the teeny detective. Their minds were truly at an equal level, though Kaito thought that Tantei-san saw things in black and white, no shades of color or gray inbetween.

Nakomori-keibu, the father of his childhood friend Aoko. Lately he'd been bothered most by the grizzled old man because Aoko was always so...well, depressed when her father wasn't around. She didn't show it, but Kaito could see. He knew her, after all, better than any person in the whole world. Just like she knew him. (Which was exactly why it was imperative not to let her show up at any heists...) Nakomori-keibu was certainly amusing, and he had a mouth that could make a sailor blush.

Then there was Hakuba, the class detective. Kaito frowned at the thought of him, it certainly was fun to mess with the British boy but he had a bad habit of getting scarily close to the truth. At least he had no physical proof linking him to Kid, but so far he was the closest to figuring out who he really was. In Tantei-san's defense...Hakuba did happen to go to the same school with him, and he was a tad bit obsessive.

Kaito grinned as he looked through his binoculaurs. What luck, they were all there. All three. The challenge made his blood sing with promise, and he felt his heart quicken. He drifted his gaze to the black gem in the display case. So dark that it seemed as though there was no chance any light would go into it. The Midnight Kiss...

Standing straight, he threw his hands up. In this gesture a sheet flew in front of his face, and as it fell away his simple dark clothing was replaced. He wore a suit of shining white, a top-hat that was the same pristine color and a monocle that covered part of his face. Kaito grinned, a cocky grin that showed how much he truly enjoyed being in the spotlight. With great flourish he grabbed the end of his white cape and grinned, "It's showtime~!"

* * *

"Look!" Gazzy said, distracting Max from her sleepy daze in the corner. The boy was sitting at the window to their apartment, paid for courtesy her mother, and pointing excitedly at the museum next door. "There are cops EVERYWHERE down there! I wonder what they're up to?"

"Seriously?" Dylan asked, sounding curious, "Huh, there are. I wonder what's going on?"

"Maybe somebody broke into the building?" Nudge queried, some excitement in her tone. Max got up and casually glanced down. She tried not to feel alarmed, could it be possible they were somehow after them? Knowing their luck it really wouldn't have surprised Max all that much.

"Not broke in." Angel said softly, eyes twinkling with excitement and mischief. "GOING to break in! They're waiting for that famous thief, that's the place he sent his warning to!"

"Famous thief?" Max said.

"Apparently he's some sort of enigma for the people here." Total said with a yawn. "The people of Japan say he's a menace, but they seem to idolize him at the same time. He has a few fans too, doesn't he? I suppose he's just some thrill-seeker testing his limits. What I read in the paper said that he never keeps the things he steals..."

Max was trying to keep her face carefully nuetral while she wondered why the heck Total knew more about this than she did. She let herself glance out the window again, feeling a little bored. Casually she said, "You could probably get a better look at the museum from the bay window at the end of the hallway outside you know..."

The reaction was instant, and incredibly amusing. Every bird-kid, including Dylan, ran into the hall beyond. Max sighed, and followed after them. Why not be the spectators in a situation for once?

**

* * *

**

The curator of the museum, a simple man named Yoshi, stood trembling at the end of the line of police. His eyes raked over every man and woman in the line in suspicion. Even if Nakomori insisted that he had pinched the cheek of every single one of them...he found himself reeling with mistrust.

In the jacket of his thick coat his grip tightened on the butt of a loaded gun.

The Midnight Kiss would not fall into the hands of a damned thief...not one that would survive.

* * *

Kaito was inwardly grinning, but his face only reflected that of the people around him. The anxiety and shifty eyes. If Kaito did not succeed in becoming a magician he certainly had a future in acting. He looked every bit the nervous officer that he had managed to whisk away and replace in what would have seemed like the blink of an eye.

Magic, illusion, it's main component was that of distraction. The magician would attract the attention of their audience elsewhere while they performed their magic. Without it, and the poker-face of course, a magician was nothing. His tricks would be easily seen through.

What he had now...inwardly Kaito grinned again. It was amazing how he could feel so much on the inside, be so vibrant, and keep his face in one position. The smallest twitch of his fingers, two of them tapping the face of his watch, and suddenly the entire room went black. Another tap, this time on the bottom of his wristwatch, had smoke filling the room.

"The jewel!" somebody cried, but Kaito already had the black gem closed in a white gloved hand. He'd managed to change back into his Kid uniform, and as the smoke cleared he saw the irritated looks of his audience change to bafflement. Kaito allowed an impish grin to capture his features.

"That was awfully easy, Nakomori-keibu! Aaaah~! And Tantei-san you showed up as well? It seems that you've both lost your touch." Kaito grinned, and waved his arms about in a flourish. He watched as Tantei-san's eyes tracked his movements hungrily, or rather, the movements to the left of him hungrily.

There was an entire wall of mirrors in the room. A simple utilization of the reflective surfaces of the display cases, and a hundred thieves were holding a hundred gems. Hakuba was the first to voice the trick, "They're reflections!"

"Think of where the display cases are!" Tantei-san added, eyes flashing with challenge behind his glasses. Kaito grinned, so they had guessed it but it was all too little too late. The thief spun on his heel and ran down the hall. He jumped on top of a case, and crouched in the window, the white wings of his glider spreading out. "Kid!"

"You're just incredibly slow today, Tantei-san!" Kaito taunted, and leaped from the window. As he soared up into the night sky he heard shouts behind him, and turned his head back just in time to see the curator sticking his head out the window. Kaito noticed the gun, and banked sharply to the left. It was too late though, a shot was fired and pain exploded in his shoulder.

**

* * *

**

Shinichi felt his stomach clench in horror. One second he was longing to capture his old rival, and the next his heart was freezing in terror. Dammit, no! The curator had a gun, and Kid was in his sights. Shinichi tried to warn him, "Kid!"

"You're just incredibly slow today, Tantei-san!" Kid said, misreading Shinichi's warning. Shinichi watched as he flew out the window, but the curator was there a heartbeat after.

Shinichi looked around desperately, for anything he could kick. He turned the dial on his sneakers and felt the electricity pump the muscles in his foot. A fallen helmet from one of the displays would do just nicely. But, just as his foot connected with the metallic object, Yoshi-sama fired his gun.

The man crumbled to the ground a heartbeat afterwards, struck in the back of the skull by the helmet. Shinichi's foot screamed in complaint, but he hopped over to the window and stared in wide-eyed shock as Kaitou Kid's glider banked, and then crashed through the window of the building next door.

* * *

Gazzy stood with the rest of the Flock, nose pressed to the glass. He felt his stomach stir with something like excitement when a flash of white appeared in the window. Could it be? "It's him!" He said, feeling strangely in awe over the whole thing. The thief was using a hang-glider, and he flew as if he was born...well, with wings. "Wow..."

For some reason that Gazzy couldn't imagine he banked sharply, faltered in his graceful flight patterns. It was as he swooped dramatically towards the window they were all pressed at that Max sharply called out, "Back, everybody, back now!"

Gazzy barely managed to scramble out of the way as the thief crashed through the window. Glass exploded into the hall, and Max grabbed him by the back of his shirt to pull him out of the way of any debris. The noise of the sirens outside were suddenly very loud in the quiet hall, and every member of the Flock stood frozen in shock.

**

* * *

**

Kaito groaned, the pain in his shoulder burned like fire. It made it hard to catch his breath, but somehow he managed to get to his feet. His once snow colored suit was dappled with crimson stains, from the gunshot wound and the glass from the window. It didn't take long to get a grip on his surroundings.

An apartment building, the one next to the museum. It had been built in such an odd place, but he had used this place to stake out the museum below only a half-hour earlier. The hall was empty...or it would have been except for the single group of people staring at him in wide-eyed shock.

_Well this isn't good..._Kaito thought, twitching inwardly. His face remained a mask of calm, but his heart was hammering like a trapped bird on the inside of his ribcage. The police would have seen him fall, he had to get out of this place now. Just as his fingers inched to get a smoke pellet he heard the concerned voice of one of the people.

"Are you hurt?" Kaito felt a flash of surprise, at the question which had caught him off guard, and the person who had asked it. It was Dylan, the new boy in his school. Kaito was confused by the concern in his eyes. Dylan wouldn't know him as anything more than a thief, so why did he care if he was injured or not?

"I'm fine." Kaito lied, and forced himself to wave his arms about in a dramatic flourish. It sparked agony in him, _Owowowowowow!_ Kaito thought, but he didn't flinch even in the slightest. He was good, his poker-face hid any pain. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"He's lying." The little girl's comment made Kaito dart his eyes to her face. Inwardly he was blanching, but outwardly he only gave a slightly quizzical smile. His vision flickered slightly. Damn, he had to get out of here before he passed out. "You're going to use a smoke bomb, and cartwheel passed Max while the smoke is there. Because we'll expect you to edge by on the outside, not right through the middle of us."

Kaito raised an eyebrow over his monocle. That was...creepy, the girl knew exactly what he was going to do. Kaito twirled the pellet expertly between his fingers, "Interesting, and what gave me away?"

"You think very loudly." Came the sweet reply. The girl smiled up at him in a way that was almost eerie. Really, why couldn't he just meet little kids that weren't strange? "You were shot in your shoulder, and your vision is flickering. You have to get out of here before the police come so you don't get caught. They know which building you fell in."

"Ah, a psychic." Kaito said, winking at her cheerfully, "Then you must realize how very imperative it is that I get out of here..."

"They're already in the building. Unless you jump out that window, which you can't because your glider broke, you're going to get caught. This will be the last appearance made by Kaitou Kid." The little girl said, sending him a mischevious smile. "You might think you could dodge the police, but you're still human. You try and do your usual evasive maneuvers and you're going to make yourself pass out from the pain."

Kaito twitched inwardly, and threw the pellet onto the ground. He decided to go with his original plan, because they wouldn't expect him to do something that had already been said. Thank you reverse psychology, but as soon as he flipped up onto his hands his stomach flipped with the pain. He staggered, and fell flat on his face.

Great, so basically he'd proved that little girl right. He was screwed...his vision flickered and went black.

* * *

"Told you so." Angel said in a sing-song voice, even though Gazzy doubted the thief would be able to hear her at all. The poor guy was lying on the ground, his eyes half-closed and his wound bleeding heavily. Gazzy blinked, "The police will pick him up. Serves him right for being so sneaky~!"

The police were coming. Gazzy frowned, that was hardly fair. They'd arrest him, and he wasn't in his usual position. Wasn't that considered cheating? Gazzy tipped a look at Max, who was looking down at the thief with slightly sympathetic eyes. Maybe she understood...Gazzy didn't like just giving the guy up to people he was always running from. He knew what it felt like to be caught by the enemy.

"He is really hurt." Gazzy said softly, "Max..."

"No." Max said, shutting down his question. Gazzy winced and heard Total whimper slightly.

"He's awfully poetic." Total sniffed, pawing at the thief's cape. "I find it rather artistic of him to use white while he's a thief. Perhaps it's to mock them, but it seems to testify to his purity. Did you know that he's completely non-violent? Doesn't believe in hurting those around him, even if he's close to getting caught."

"I figured as much, or he would have taken us hostage." Max said dryly, giving everyone a stern look. "We aren't helping him. We're leaving him here, and letting the police pick him up. He's a criminal guys..."

"We've had to do some pretty bad stuff before too." Nudge pointed out, "Everyone has a side to their story Max..."

"We should just at least level the playing field a bit." Gazzy said, "It's not fair if they catch him when he's wounded like this!"

"He seems like a genuinely okay guy...besides the stealing thing." Dylan said thoughtfully. Gazzy watched as Max looked at him with her mouth open in slight dismay.

"Not you too!" She groaned, glaring around at every hopeful eye. "He's a thief you guys, not a random kitten or something. We can't just take him in. We don't KNOW him, we probably shouldn't trust him he's..."

"Not a bad person." Angel said softly, "He's annoying, and yeah it would probably serve him right, but he's not a bad person Max. I know, he never once thought of hurting us. He just wanted to get away..."

Gazzy looked at her hopefully, and Max heaved a tired sigh. "Dylan, help me get him to his feet. I can't just drag him in there or his blood will be easy to follow. Everybody hurry up and get the door to the apartment open. Nudge, set up the couch with some blankets and get some hot water Gazzy. Total, get some towels we're going to have to look at his wound. Angel, has anyone overheard this whole ordeal on this floor?"

Angel tipped her head to the side as everyone scrambled to move. "No, they're all asleep."

"Good. Move." Max ordered, and everyone began their tasks.

**

* * *

**

Gazzy sat on the couch and watched the unconscious thief thoughtfully. They had removed his jacket, but out of courtesy for his secret identity they had decided to keep the monocle and hat in place. To say they were slightly curious about the thief was a bit of an understatement. Gazzy had already rifled through the contents of the white jacket, and he had been surprised by the sheer number of POCKETS the thing had.

"What IS all of this?" Max asked, picking up what looked like a gun loaded with cards. "Did he have all of this in his pockets? How in the world..."

"Deceptively deep." Angel said simply.

"Shhhh..." Gazzy said, the thief had groaned, "I think he's waking up! Hello...erm, Kid-sama? You made yourself pass out because of what you did earlier...are you alright?"

"Passed out." Came the mumbled reply, a quirk of something like a smile crossed his features, "But I'm not deaf, Boy-san."

There was a slight pause as Kid glanced around the room, taking in their faces and the surroundings. It reminded Gazzy of the way that they automatically searched for potential exits. They had more in common with this thief than he probably realized. Dylan entered the room and winced, "So you're awake?"

"Yes." Kid said. The thief looked slightly curious as he glanced around the room. "You...didn't turn me in did you? Am I in a predicament to ask exactly why you would have done that?"

"They like you." Max replied in a deadpan, crossing her arms. Gazzy was a little surprised, her Japanese wasn't very good but she was managing this much. She was watching Kid with careful wariness, "Don't ask me why. I think they happen to pity you because we've been in situations like that before."

"Ah, fans." Kid replied, as if this made perfect sense. Nudge blushed deeply as he shot the girl a wink. Gazzy noticed that Max's eyes narrowed at this with something akin to irritation but the boy couldn't help but grin at the remark. Fans? It made sense to Gazzy. What wasn't there to like about him? "You could get into a lot of trouble for helping me out you know."

He was confident, and cool. Sure of himself, but there was something about him that made Gazzy feel like he wouldn't stab you in the back either, this last sentence being plenty of proof for that. Even Angel seemed to like him, and she hardly liked anybody these days unless she felt like they were super easy to manipulate or something.

"Fans, yes!" Total agreed wholeheartedly, his stubby tail wagging. "You sir, are an amazing artist! I've read up on your heists, even the hints you leave behind are poetic and thought through! You are a revelation in the world these days! A breath of fresh air, even a legend!"

Kid was regarding the dog with a smile. Which surprised Gazzy, wasn't he shocked? It wasn't every day you met a dog. Angel leaned over and whispered softly, "Yeah, he's startled. He's practically screaming questions in his head. It's weird, he thinks so passionately and with a tone of emotion but you can't see any of it on his face..."

"You're an interesting one." Kid said. Total tensed, as though expecting him to leap at the fact that he was a dog, instead Kid casually stated, "You seem to be rather passionate about the arts. Most people focus on the fact that I'm a thief..."

As he said the word 'thief', a black gem appeared in his gloved hand suddenly. He flashed a mischevious grin at the shocked looks on their faces, "You didn't think I'd leave it in my pockets with the offhand chance that somebody would get ahold of me did you?" He practically purred the question.

"Coool!" Gazzy said, "You're like a magician."

Angel's eyes widened, Max's eyes narrowed.

"I'm glad that you're not bleeding to death." Dylan announced, shifting uncomfortably, "But Kid-sama we're going to have to get that bullet out...or find a way to take you to the hospital. Max here knows first-aid...and has probably dealt with bullets before so she could do it if you'd prefer."

"That would be best." Kid sighed, and Angel snorted with something like laughter. Gazzy glanced at her curiously, "What are you laughing at?"

"Just the fact that you were groaning inwardly about how there probably wouldn't be any painkillers. No, Kid-sama, we don't have any painkillers. I'm sorry." Angel smiled at him sweetly. Kid arched a single eyebrow at her. As if to answer an unspoken question, Kid had probably asked it in his head, she said, "My name is Angel."

"I'm Gazzy!" Gazzy said excitedly, grinning as Kid shot him a smile.

"My name is Nudge..." Nudge said softly, blushing again and ducking into the other room. Gazzy blinked, what was up with her. But Kid only dipped his head in her direction.

"And I'm Total..." Total barked, bowing low. Kid tipped the edge of his hat at the little dog.

"I'm Dylan, and the grump glaring at you is Max." Dylan said with a smile. "Yeah, Angel's right, we don't have any painkillers or anything. So if you'd prefer us to take you to the hospital..."

"You're a master of disguise right?" Gazzy asked, "You could easily dress up and-"

A knock at the door cut him off. Everyone glanced at each other. They didn't need to read minds like Angel to realize that it was the police at the door. Nudge gathered everything from Kid's pockets into her arms. She staggered a little under the weight, and Gazzy was helping to thief to his feet.

"Police, open up!" The impatient voice of a man sounded on the other side of the door.

"Nakomori..." Kid grunted, his eyes flashing with pain but his face somehow remaining nuetral. Gazzy pushed him into the bathroom, "Uh..."

"Stay in there, turn the shower on." Gazzy ordered. He shut the door in the thief's face, and listened as the water suddenly turned on. At that moment a very angry looking man burst into the room. Everyone squeaked as his eyes darted around the room. Gazzy coughed nervously into his hand. Nudge was leaning against the closet door, breathing a little heavily.

"I am Nakomori-keibu. We're looking for Kaitou Kid." Nakomori said, stepping into the room.

"Kaitou Kid?" Max said, arching an eyebrow.

"She doesn't speak much Japanese." Dylan explained, "We haven't seen anybody strange, sir."

"Why are all you children up so late?" Nakomori asked suspiciously.

"B-because Obaa-san needed a shower!" Gazzy said, all eyes swiveled to him. He winced inwardly. "She...she has trouble walking so she fell down on her way to the bathroom. We woke up and were worried about her for a little bit...that's all."

"Grandma needed a shower?" Angel whispered as Nakomori pushed passed him and knocked on the door.

"I couldn't think of anything else!" Gazzy hissed softly in reply. He prepared to say something in a voice that would resemble a grandmother's when something caught him off guard.

"Who is it?" Came the elderly woman reply from the other side of the door. Gazzy blinked. Kid could mimic voices? Like HIM? AWESOME! It was flawless, anybody not there would completely believe it was a grandmother in the shower-room. "Gazzy-kun dear? Do I need to come out? I've just started relaxing..."

"N-no Obaa-san!" Nakomori said hastily, "That's quite alright. We'll just be leaving...Alright, he's not here! Quick, to the other rooms!"

With that the police rushed out of the apartment. After the door slammed shut Kid poked his head around the door and shot an amused grin into the room. "You'd think he'd have figured out that I could have easily fooled him into thinking I was an Obaa-san using my mimicry..."

"That's so cool!" Gazzy said, leaping over to him. "I can do that too!"

"Oh?" Kid said, tipping his head to one side and smiling in what must have been amusement. He ruffled Gazzy's hair and added, "Perhaps we could make a good phantom thief apprentice out of you yet..."

Max frowned in the corner, clearly irritated at the fact that she couldn't understand the conversation but probably wondering why Gazzy's eyes lit up with complete excitement suddenly. "That'd be the most awesome thing in the whole world!" Gazzy exclaimed. Max's frown deepened.

* * *

Kaito rolled his shoulder. It still hurt, and probably would for quite awhile, but Max had been good with those tweezers. The bullet was out, and she had even sewn his shoulder up. Though she was watching him with distinct mistrust as he patched up the hole in his glider.

"Are you leaving?" Gazzy asked, the boy had somewhat latched onto him in the few hours he had stayed here. Kaito glanced at his watch, it was nearly three in the morning. He couldn't risk his mother noticing his abscence. The kid seemed disappointed and inwardly Kaito chuckled.

"Yeah, but I'll find some way to talk to you again. I owe you anyways." Kaito winked at him, and watched as Gazzy smiled. It was kids like Gazzy that made him long to be a magician. "Don't you go pick-pocketing anybody quite yet or anything like that."

"Kay, Kid-sama!" Gazzy said, the mischevious grin on his face kind of reminded Kaito of him when he was younger. He grinned, allowing the kid to see a genuine smile before he threw the window open.

"Don't let people figure out who you are." Angel's voice made Kaito inwardly stiffen. He locked eyes with that little girl. She knew, it was clear in her blue eyes. Her eerie way of knowing exactly what he was thinking bothered him, and the fact that she knew who he really was..."Be good in school."

"You'll return that soon, right?" Dylan asked, as Kaito tossed the black gem in the air.

"Only if it isn't what I've been looking for." Kaito replied, deciding the truth was a good way to repay his classmate. He hoped that he hadn't done anything to let him recognize him...especially since that Angel girl already seemed to know the truth. Kaito stepped back and let his glider spread open. "Thank you!"

With that the thief vanished into the darkness.

**

* * *

**

The door was shut loudly enough to wake me up. I snorted in irritation, and knew it was Kogoro. He had gone on that heist thing along with Shinichi and Ran. So the house had been to myself. I had been catching up on my Z's. Kogoro was grumbling, and he smelled of alcohol.

As soon as he whumped over onto his bed he started to snore. My eyebrow twitched, and I was just getting ready to go back to sleep when Shinichi stumbled into the room. He yawned as he plopped down next to me. He seemed frustrated, but there was an acute sense of relief to his atmosphere of emotion.

"Kid got shot." He said, and I frowned. Sheesh, was he HAPPY the guy was shot? Then I realized that wasn't the case when he breathed a soft sigh of relief, "He was alright though. He popped up just outside the perimeter around the museum to taunt the police and then he got away..."

Relief for the fact the guy wasn't dead, frustration because he didn't catch him. I grinned despite the fact that I was a little irritated at being kept awake. "So the thief guy gave you the slip? You have a bunch of crap on your mind lately or are you just starting to loose your touch?"

Silence met my question, I realized that what I had said struck a nerve.

"It's Ran." Shinichi said, before rolling over in his futon. He said nothing more, but he didn't have to. I could hear everything in his tone. The guilt, regret, sorrow, depression. I felt a twinge of pity for my friend, but I couldn't think of anything to say. He knew that I'd rather him tell her, so she'd have a better chance at protecting herself.

It was his call, not mine.

* * *

_**DONE! X3**_

**_I love Total... :3_**

_**Worked hard on this chapter, and it was a lot of fun to do.**_

_**And now Gazzy has an idol in Kaito. I realized that would be kind of amusing because of the whole 'mimicry' thing that they've both got going on. I mean, if Gazzy could become a master of disguise? Sheesh, he might even be better than Kid at the whole ordeal. -grins-**_

_**So Angel knows, but that's cheating because she can read minds. -,-u**_

_**Will she try and blackmail Kaito later?**_

_**Of course, it's Angel. -snickers- Besides, it'd be kind of fun to make poor Kaito into an Angel slave...-evil laugh-**_

_**Reviews are always appreciated.**_


	19. A Rainy Day

_Disclaimer:_

_Not mine._

_**Gah...**_

_**Why do I have a feeling this chapter is going to be depressing?**_

_**-coughs- Ahead of time, I'm aware that Iggy is particularly grumpy in this chapter. I just wanted to try writing Iggy while he's having a rather bad day...so this is the brian-child of that. -.-u Plus it kind of helps the plot along a little bit in it's own special way.**_

_**Em Phantom- Tis okay, as long as you're still reading and drop the random review off every now and then so I know you're still there I'm good. :3 Kaito is fun to write, but this next chapter isn't very funny. -sighs- Sorry, it's a depressing one kind of filled with angst. **_

_**Elena Forest- Lawl, I'm glad you appreciated the name for it. X3 I went through about five of them before I finally stuck with that one. Naming chapters can be harder than you think. -.-u **_

_**Aleathil Elendil- (for both reviews) I love Mitsuhiko, he happens to be my favorite of the Detective Boys. And if I wasn't throwing Iggy at her like crazy I'd totally have some MitsuAi in this fanfiction. Because it's cute how he has a major crush on her. :3 Ooo, I know, Takagi is smarter than he looks. X3 Lawl, Kaito taking all the Flock under his wing, no pun intended. That'd be funny. **_

**

* * *

**

_Chapter Nineteen- A Rainy Day_

I've discovered something. I don't like rain very much. It isn't so much the wet that bothers me, or even the cold. It's just the sterotypical feeling of gloom that seems to descend when it DOES rain. I've decided that I don't care for it. When rain decides to be cheerful I'll accept it with open arms.

We were all in the agency. We, as in the Detective Boys. It's weird to think that I'm considered 'one of the group' officially now, but it's not a bad feeling. I kind of feel like an older brother to those kids. And if I'm the older brother then that makes Shinichi the eldest older brother.

I don't even know if those kids realize how much they look up to him. It's a little amusing.

"Bingo!" The shout nearly knocked me out of my chair. Ayumi, who had been sitting next to me, clearly filled her row before the others. Groans followed suit, and I smiled in amusement.

Everyone was playing Bingo, and, after convincing Genta that kids could have fun playing it as well as old people, every one of the kids seemed to be focused on winning. Ayumi cheered as complaints issued from the other players, and I grabbed one of the small pieces between my fingers.

"This isn't a game one can truly be a master of." Shiho's soft voice said, I stopped twirling the small piece between my fingers to turn my head in her direction. I had a feeling that for some reason she was looking right at me as she spoke. "Everything is left up to fate, chance, luck. There isn't really a strategy to it at all..."

Sheesh, what was her problem? She was always making me feel so uncomfortable. I scowled and narrowed my eyes at the game piece between my fingers. A small slightly awkward silence had descended on the room around me, Ayumi cleared her throat nervously. "Perhaps we should pick a different game..."

Heh? Why did I get the sudden sensation that everybody was looking over at me? "Wh-why would you want to do that? You guys sounded like you were having so much fun..."

"But you can't play with us, Iggy-kun." Mitsuhiko stated, as if he felt badly for not having noticed. "We should have picked a game that every person could have a part in. You're bored."

"It's obvious." Genta said when I opened my mouth to deny this, "You've been sighing at the ceiling for the last few minutes..."

"Perhaps Iggy-kun should try hiding his feelings more?" Shiho said, something close to mocking laced her tone. I turned a potent look in her direction and she gave a small snort, "If you move your eyes down just a few centimeters you'll have me lanced with your look of death..."

"Oi, oi you two..." Shinichi interrupted before I had the chance to do anything else. He lowered his voice, mischief flickering behind his words, "Not in front of the kids you two."

"What in the world is THAT supposed to mean?" I choked out. Shinichi's only reply was to snicker under his breath, and hop out of the chair that he'd been sitting in. Shiho didn't even say anything in reply to the comment. I frowned to myself, wondering what was up with him at the moment.

"If it wasn't raining we could go to the park or something." Ayumi said sadly, "There isn't much to do..."

She didn't finish, but I knew what she was going to say. There was plenty to do in the Agency, Shinichi even had some video games. They were just certain that there wasn't much to do involving ME. I scowled angrily at the table-top, my mood dropping down even further somehow.

"Hakase said that he'd take us camping soon." Shiho said suddenly, strangely it seemed as though she was trying to lift everyone's mood. Strange because...well usually the girl tended to be a bit of a kill-joy. I heard the cheers in reaction almost instantly, and felt her eyes on me, "You'll all be wanting to come, ne?"

Why did I get the feeling that she was specifically asking me? Suspicion prickled me like a thorn, but I only shrugged my shoulders in a noncommital way. The result was me getting practically thrown out of my chair as Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all practically tackled me.

"You HAVE to come!" Ayumi pleaded.

"You're part of the Detective Boys!" Mitsuhiko said.

"You need to make that stew!" Genta added. I laughed, and managed to shove the kids off.

"It's just that last time we went camping things didn't exactly turn out great in the end." I said, laughing a little nervously and rubbing the back of my head. "Remember? Ai-chan and I almost got killed while we were out in that forest...I wouldn't want something like that to happen again."

"Then shouldn't you go?" Shiho asked, and I suddenly realized that she'd crossed over to my side of the table. Her face was very close to mine, and I felt heat suddenly color my face. "So you can be my avenging angel once more?"

"Eh...wh-what?" I choked, good lord that girl is weird. She backed off, thankfully, and I felt the eyes of everyone in the room on me. I turned my head so that I would be staring at the ceiling had I been able to see. My face was still warm with my blush, and I coughed fiercely in my hand to cover my embarassment. "I guess it would be alright for me to come."

It only seemed to make things even more awkward, I was hyper-aware of the fact that Mitsuhiko was giving me a death glare. I could feel the jealousy roiling off of the kid in waves. Why did he feel jealous about me? What the heck did I do to him. I turned in his direction, a questioning look on my face but the boy didn't elaborate.

"Let's play video games!" Genta pleaded. Ayumi must have elbowed him, because I heard him hiss angrily, "WHAT! Sheesh..."

"Iggy-kun can't play them..." Ayumi said, and I felt my face heat up with embarassment again. I jumped out of my seat and onto the ground. "I-Iggy-kun where are you going?"

"I think I'm going to call Fang-niichan." I said, waving her off. "You guys go and play those games and stuff. I'll be back a little later, alright?" I left before anybody had a chance to call me back or make me stay. It wasn't a lie, I really was going to call Fang. Still, it was a good enough excuse to leave their group for awhile.

**

* * *

**

"Bad mood?" Fang asked, two sentences into our conversation. I scowled at the phone, sitting down on the chair nearby. "You can't be that surprised. I can feel your irritation seeping through the phone Iggy."

"It's taking longer than I thought it would." I finally admitted, "I don't even think that it's because I'M impatient, it's Shinichi. I hate being around him when he's like this. It sucks."

"Like what?" Fang queried.

"Antsy, on edge. Guilt-ridden. Depressed. Take your pick. The guy isn't exactly mister emotional, but I've gotten to the point where I can tell what he's feeling just as easily as I could you or Max. He HATES this Fang, even more than I do. It's not because it's embarassing or him, or even because he can't do his detective stuff without using Kogoro-ojisan as a puppet." I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers, "It's Ran. He hates lying to her, though he hasn't really said that much out loud. You'd have to be an idiot not to notice."

"I don't envy him, that's for sure." Fang replied lightly. "You're being a bit overly sympathetic...you really trust this guy, don't you?"

"What?" I blinked, "I guess so, he hasn't done anything bad to me at all. He seems to know a lot more than he's telling some of the time, but I haven't exactly been an open book for him either. Though it's hardly fair for me, since he could probably deduce the truth about everything I lied to him about."

"So? There's always something good about the situations you're in." Fang replied, sounding calm as he ever was. I rolled my eyes at that, "There has to be at least a few things you and Shinichi like about the situation you're in. Next time Shinichi's feeling down point out to him that if he had never been Conan he would never have learned so much about Ran."

"Cause reminding him that he's technically spying on his girlfriend is SURE to make him feel better." I replied sarcastically. My wandering hands found a lighter, cool. I started to flick it on and off as I spoke, entranced by the feeling of heat that would start up with the flame. "It's not all bad. There's those kids..."

"Kids?" Fang queried.

"The Detective Boys. They're really sweet." I smiled, "They'll make really great detectives one day, I think. That is...if hanging around Shinichi doesn't get them killed. I swear the guy's a magnet for bad luck. Though I haven't exactly been a good person to hang around either lately...what with what happened at the school."

"At the school?" Fang asked, I winced. I had forgotten all about the fact that...well, I hadn't told Fang about that situation yet. I flicked the lighter on and inched my thumb towards the flame before flicking it off quickly. "Iggy? What happened at the school?"

"Erasers showed up." I said, I heard Fang's grip tighten on the phone. I forced some cheer into my tone, "We scared them off though, I doubt they'll show up like that again anytime soon. Not with Shinichi and I both on the case...of course Shinichi figured out the bird-kid thing in the end but it was worth it."

"Erasers?" Fang said sharply, "Iggy, why the hell didn't you call me right away? When did this happen?"

"Erm...a little more than a week ago." I said. Fang swore angrily, and I sensed that there was something more than the fact that I had been in danger. "What's wrong?"

"You moron, MAX is still in Tokyo." Fang spat, I winced. I hadn't thought of that, I hadn't heard anything of her lately. Still I could hear the clarity in Fang's voice as he said, "She's there because she wouldn't leave if there was even the smallest chance that you were there, you know that!"

"Well really, what the hell do you want me to do? Walk up to Max and say, 'Sup, I shrunk. Erasers are in town by the way.' And then cheerfully skip away?" I felt my anger rise up, "They didn't know she was in town, because they wanted me so they could find HER."

"You didn't tell me because you were scared I'd make you leave." Fang said angrily, I narrowed my eyes. "Have you forgotten who your friends are Iggy? What are you going to do when you have to pick between your little detective family and the Flock."

"Says the guy who RAN OFF." I spat back, furious. "Shinichi is a hell of a lot better at being a friend than you Fang! Even now he stands by Ran, even if it's practically killing him to do it. But you're a damn coward, you couldn't stand by Max because you were afraid that you'd stop liking each other."

I slammed down the phone, and winced at the sharp sound it made. I grimaced, and sat down on the couch again, flicking my lighter on and off. _'What are you going to do when you have to pick between your little detective family and the Flock?' _It wasn't until the third time I'd snuffed the small flame out that she decided to make her prescence known. My shoulders tensed as she cleared her throat, "You really shouldn't play with fire, Iggy-kun. You could burn yourself."

"R-Ran-neechan!" I said, falling off of the couch in my complete surprise. I had gone down to the agency itself to use the office phone, since Kogoro was out. This had been an attempt at privacy. How had I not noticed her showing up? When DID she show up for that matter? I thought of all that I'd discussed and I felt a little cold. Did I say anything about Shinichi being Conan? Even the sentences I had said in the beginning would be suspicious enough, "Wh-when did you come in here?"

* * *

He looked just like Conan did those few times she'd caught him off guard. As if there was a big secret hidden that she wasn't allowed to know, couldn't know. Iggy had one hand placed over his heart, and his eyes were stretching wide with surprise. She felt a little bad, was it low down to sneak up on a blind little kid?

_The way he was talking just now didn't SOUND like a little kid._ Ran thought to herself. Even as she thought these words she noticed his eyes narrow for the barest of instances, then they were wide once more. She was aware of the way he was standing, head tipped to one side as though he was ready to listen hard to everything she had to say.

"Near the end of your conversation with Fang-kun..." Ran said casually. So it was more like the middle of the conversation, when he had started talking about erasers or something like that. She could practically hear the audio in Iggy's head as the boy thought back. He was wondering what he had said. "You didn't speak very politely with him."

"Sorry." Iggy said, though he didn't sound as if he were in the least. "Ran-neechan...am I in trouble for playing with the lighter? I know I shouldn't have, but I found it and I like to keep my hands busy while I talk..."

For a moment Ran faltered. His eyes were wide with worry, and he was holding the lighter out to her with a pleading look in his blind eyes. She was always a little surprised how expressive his eyes were when he couldn't see out of them. Was it really possible that he was nervous about the lighter?

"No, you're not in trouble." Ran said, patting Iggy on the head. He seemed to relax for a moment, and Ran watched him very carefully as she added, "Just curious, Iggy-kun, what did you mean about the fact that Shinichi was standing by me even if it killed him to do it?"

There, just the barest hint of a tensing of the shoulders. "Because...you sometimes smell really bad?"

Ran felt her gaze flatten. "What?" She asked, Iggy had a brief look of panic cross her features as she said in a dangerously low voice. "Did he tell you this, Iggy-kun?"

"No..." Iggy said, wincing slightly. Ran felt her eyes narrow and he laughed nervously, "I made it up, Ran-neechan! I was trying to make Fang-niichan feel badly because he left his girlfriend behind in a very mean way! So I thought of Shinichi and you, because I think he REALLY likes you."

Her heart hurt a little bit at those words. Ran sighed, and stepped back. What had she been thinking anyways? That Iggy and Conan were part of some large secret involving the way her best friend was always gone? A look of sadness crossed Iggy's face for a brief moment.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you Iggy-kun?" Ran said softly, dusting him off. "You fell off the couch, I would be very upset if you got hurt because I startled you."

"No Ran-neechan, I'm alright." Iggy said quietly, as if he felt bad for her. He took a deep breath, "Shinichi-niichan...he worries about you a lot, did you know that? He gets sad because...he doesn't like to think that he makes you hurt while you're gone. Ran-neechan..."

"You and Conan-kun." Ran said, closing her eyes. She couldn't help the tears that suddenly came out, "You're always trying to stand up for him, you both. I sometimes wonder if you want to make me feel better, or make me think that Shinichi is still a good person."

"Ran-neechan..." Iggy murmured.

**

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**

It sucked, having to lie to Ran through my teeth. I wanted to tell her the truth, so badly that it hurt. Just to give her some peace of mind. Because she deserved that, for acting as strong as she did. She deserved that, for waiting for him the way she did. I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her. The hug of a little brother desperately trying to cheer his sister up.

"Thanks, Iggy-kun." Ran said, laughing through her tears. She stood up and grabbed my hand in hers. "Why don't we go upstairs with everybody else. It'll be a lot more fun then hanging around down here in the dark."

"You really are like a big sister to me, Ran-neechan." I said, smiling up at her. "You're the best."

"Thank you, Iggy-kun." Ran said, squeezing my hand. She lead me up the stairs and into the room. I could hear Genta letting out loud noises of victory, and Mitsuhiko groaning in the background. Ayumi was cheering for them both, which was pretty nice. I felt my shoulders tense a little as Ran let go of my hand and walked into the kitchen.

"She was crying." Shinichi said, and the guilt in his voice made me want to bash a head in a wall. My response was to glare at my shoes, "What happened, Iggy-kun?"

"Don't worry about it. The problem was solved." I said, feeling exhaustion. I didn't want to deal with Shinichi being depressing too, all of a sudden. I walked away, out into the hall. "If Ran-neechan asks I went out onto the roof, alright? Don't bother her about what happened, okay? You know what it was about, and it'll just make you feel like crap if you dig it out of her."

I managed to, after getting lost like five times, finally make it out on the roof. It wasn't very liberating by any means. If anything it was just really cold, and wet. I scowled, and sat on the very edge of the building, letting my feet dangle over the edge. When the door slammed shut behind me I froze.

"You're angry that I followed you up here." Shiho said, sitting next to me. I felt a little nervous at that. I was fine sitting here, if I fell off then I would be able to fly away to safety. If she fell off...well she'd probably break her neck before I had the chance to catch her. The thought made me feel a little sick to my stomach. "You seem angry."

"I hate lying." I spat out, finding somebody to vent at. "But you don't seem to mind, do you? It's what you want him to do. I don't think it's right. I think it puts her at more danger, if anything else. What difference does it make? They find out Kudou Shinichi's alive then the first thing they'll do is go for the people closest to him. It won't make a difference whether she knows the truth or not. At least if she knew she'd have some small chance to save herself."

"So you're angry at me for my opinions? Any person who knows about the organization dies. No matter what. If she isn't told, Iggy-kun, then they will kidnap her. They will keep their faces hidden. They will hide any and all evidence, and she has a chance of surviving because if she doesn't know about Them They don't have to kill her." Shiho said coolly.

"This is all hinging on the fact of whether those bastards are in a fairly merciful mood. Something tells me that they'd be pissed enough over the fact that they managed to miss something as big as a famous detective surviving their freakin' poison that they'd kill her just for spite." I snarled.

"You hate me...for making that poison don't you?" Shiho said. I tensed my shoulders, "You hate me because of my profession too. Like people who hate doctors because their grandmother died at the hospital."

"Scientists don't care." I growled, feeling her tense up beside me. "They don't care about the people they step on do they? They just want to move forward. Just want to create, they don't give a crap about who gets hurt in the process. Don't lie to me and say that you cared about a single person they fed that poison to."

"True." Shiho said quietly, "I didn't really care. Because I grew up hardening my heart. I was a killer, Iggy-kun. Perhaps I didn't administor the poison myself but I created it. I wonder, sometimes, if the man who created guns ever felt guilt for the weapon that he created? Or the knife and spear for that matter..."

"Does it make you feel as if you get off the hook? Saying that people create things to kill all the time?" I snarled, and stood up. I felt badly suddenly, for saying that to her. I had the feeling that it hurt. I sighed, "Come on, don't listen to me. I just want somebody to feel mopey like I do."

She didn't reply, and I stood their like an idiot for a moment before backing away. Softly, so quietly that I almost didn't hear it, she murmured, "Do you think that I can ever make up for it...Iggy-kun? All the lives that my invention stole..."

"Maybe. Maybe not." I replied, "You've got to take that first step and forgive yourself before you can expect anyone else to do the same though."

"Ah, but that's saying that my own actions will reflect on the hearts of others. Tell me, do you think that Kudou-kun trusts me?" Shiho asked, and for some reason I felt a flash of irritation over the fact that he had been brought up. I snorted and shrugged my shoulders, "He's too kind for his own good."

"That guy...kind?" I said incredulously, thought I knew what she meant. Shinichi could seem like a jerk, but he'd get himself killed for someone else's sake. He'd also get himself killed to solve a case though...one of his many flaws. "Yeah, he probably does trust you. Do you think it naive of him?"

"Do you?" Shiho asked, "Do you trust me, Iggy-kun?"

"Get away from that edge before you fall or something." I said, holding out my hand. I dipped my face forward, hiding my eyes, blind as they were, behind my bangs. "We should be going inside anyways. This rain has started to make my hands feel numb. Let's go...Shiho-san."

She didn't take my offered hand, but she got up. We walked back into the building in silence, and for some reason my heart hurt because of that quiet. I shut my eyes, and wished that this simple action could close off just a little part of my world for me like it did for so many others.

* * *

Total sneezed, and sniffed. He didn't like rain, it tended to make his fur rather damp. The little dog-bird shook himself for what must have been the millionth time. "This is such a disgrace!" The small dog complained, ears twitching as his brown eyes drifted around the area. Some passerbys looked around in confusion as he snorted irritably, "I'm just as much a person as any of those kids that went in there..."

His enemy, the 'No Dogs Allowed' sign that was slapped on the window of the convenience store. Total glared at it as if this could save him from his predicament. He was getting tired of living in Japan. Sure, there were some small perks here and there, but he missed Akila so badly that it hurt sometimes.

Total shook himself again.

"Sorry Total!" Angel said, emerging from the store with a bag of groceries weighing her down. She rubbed him on top of the head, "I didn't mean for it to take so long..."

"You could have left the umbrella." Total pointed out, shaking himself off. Angel giggled a little as the droplets hit her, and Total glared pointedly at Max who was just opening hers. "It's not like you needed it inside."

"Shush..." Max ordered, "I'm sorry Total, but you talking kind of brings on attention."

Total huffed irritably and turned to walk away. Max did the same, and in that instant she bodily slammed into another girl. The groceries went flying, eggs cracked and milk exploded. The food in the bag would have been spoiled by the puddle as well. Total yelped, and blinked at the person who had run into Max in surprise.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry!" The girl said in her native tongue. Max looked a cross between frustrated and bewildered as the girl helped her to her feet. "I ruined your stuff...I'm so sorry."

"No...that's alright." Max said slowly, though she seemed a little irritated. Total didn't blame her, they only had so much money they could spend this week, and it had been wasted now. The dog tipped his head to one side as the girl stepped close to him...there was a scent on her that was...slightly familiar.

"I'm Mouri Ran." The girl said, her voice kind and friendly. "Here...let me make it up to you. You can come and have dinner at my place!"

"No, thank you." Max said, holding up her hands. Total laughed inwardly, he was sure the reason she was declining had something to do with how confusing she found the language here. "Perhaps some other time, Ran-san. My name is Max, it's nice to meet you but I really need to be getting home. Some of my family is still there."

"Then sometime you should bring your family for dinner." Ran said cheerfully, she quickly jabbed an address down on the back of a piece of paper. "We'd be willing to have you, that's my phone number. Feel free to call anytime so I can make up for this silly little accident!"

"Alright..." Max said, looking bewildered as the girl gave her a cheerful wave before ducking into the store. "She was...very nice."

"You have no idea about half of what she was saying, do you?" Total asked, Max glared down at him and he only smirked at her. They began walking back the way they had come, Max complaining about how Gazzy was sure to be unhappy about not having eggs to eat. Total doubted it, it wasn't like Max could cook like Iggy anyways. Gazzy would probably have preferred take-out.

Total paused, glancing over his shoulder. That scent...it had been so familiar. Why couldn't he place it? Total sneezed...oh, that would probably explain quite a bit. The small dog heaved a sigh and padded after Max and Angel. He hoped that he didn't have a cold because of this rain.

**

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_**FINALLY, it's over!**_

_**Whew...**_

_**This chapter WAS depressing, so I threw the last bit in to lighten the mood up a bit. **_

_**Gah, though there was quite a few hints at IggyAi... X3**_


	20. Underneath the Stars

_Disclaimer:_

_Own I do not..._

_**I've been so excited for this chapter...**_

_**It was inspired by a casual remark in somebody's review waaay back when...**_

_**And the more I thought about it the more excited I felt. I'm really glad they brought this on! It's probably one of my favorite situations for this entire fanfiction. I hope you'll all like it.**_

_**Taromaru- X3 Well at least both you and your inner self are reading and reviewing! -nervous chuckle- This chapter should be a bit on the happier side. :3**_

_**Elena Forest- It does, doesn't it? But the longer I hold it off the more I get to write this fanfiction. :3 I love this fanfiction, it's so much fun!**_

_**Aleathil Elendil- You'll have to read one of the next fanfics I've got planned where Mitsu is the main character. X3 I love those parts too, they make my heart pound. Detective Conan is almost infamous for doing that. The episodes that kind of thing happens tend to be the ones I laugh at the hardest. (Sometimes because Shinichi's just hilarious when he's put on the spot, and other times because I'm just so relieved that Gin didn't find him hiding in his little place or something. -relieved sigh-)**_

_**Ashimattack- (for both reviews) I'm glad you like Kaito. I like him too. He's just...lovable in that way I suppose. :3 I actually got to know Kaito through fanfiction before I even saw him in the series. Mmm...how many chapters? I'm going with the 'Que sera sera' thing and just kind of winging it! :3 It was supposed to end like...five chapters ago. But I'm glad that it's still going.**_

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_Chapter Twenty- Underneath the Stars_

Twenty-five, that's how many different songs they sang on the excruciatingly long trip to our new campsite. I don't think I would have been so irritable about it. Kids that were happy liked singing, and it could have been the same song repeated over and over again. It could have been worse, but I was on edge.

Because I had the strangest feeling that something big was going to happen. It wasn't the same as when the Eraser's came, but I had the distinct sensation that somebody was plotting something for me. Whether it was good or bad I was unable to tell. I knew who was plotting it though, one Miyano Shiho.

She kept staring at me, and when I had tried to back out with the excuse that I should go visit Fang after being such a jerk the other day she had brought it up in front of the Detective Boys. That, of course, cut off any chance of escape for me. Dammit, why do I have to be a sucker for those kids?

"You're on edge again." Shinichi whispered into my ear.

"She's going to do something." I said, and knew that he would know who I was talking about instantly. I narrowed my eyes to convey my suspicions, "I don't know what, or even why. But she's got something planned for me...do you know anything, Shinichi-kun?"

"What? N-no, of course not!" Shinichi said with a nervous laugh that told me he definitely DID have some sort of idea about what was going to happen. Leaning in closer to me he added, in an extra spooky voice, "Perhaps she's going to take your blood..."

"Honestly, I wonder if it was the poison that shrunk you or your own gross immaturity." I snorted, shoving him hard. Of course that made him shove into Genta, who would have been flattening poor Mitsuhiko against the opposite door. I figured as much by the irritated yelps, "S-sorry guys!"

"Hakase, perhaps you should get a bigger car..." Ayumi said on my other side. "It's very uncomfortable, having to ride with so many people shoved into the back seat like this. It's almost hard to breathe with us all pressed together..."

"It was hard enough with just us four back here." Genta complained, "Now, since Iggy-kun has come along, it's even harder. Perhaps Iggy-kun should stop eating so much food so that we can have some room."

"Oi, oi..." I said, really, of all the kids that could have said that. I sighed and wriggled in an attempt to get comfortable, illiciting 'ows' from both Shinichi and Ayumi as my elbows dug into their ribcage. I felt a line of sweat make its way down the side of my head and I laughed, "Sorry."

"Hakase-san..." Mitsuhiko managed to choke out, "Perhaps we could stop for a short break? J-just to stretch our legs for a moment at least..."

"There's no need, we're here." Shiho's deadpan reply came from the front-seat. I wondered if she had some unspoken claim on it or something. I was considering stealing it on the ride home, just to be a pain in the tail. The car barely came to a stop before both Mitsuhiko and Ayumi burst from the car.

I tumbled after Ayumi, falling hard on my back and gasping as the wind was knocked out of me. Shinichi snickered as he helped me to my feet, "Smooth."

"Shut up." I groaned, rolling my shoulders. I stopped, registering the temperature in the air and shuddered, "A little cold to be going camping, don't you think? Maybe we can go back home..."

"The skies are very clear, I doubt it will rain." Agasa stated simply, "Besides, that was a rather long drive to go all the way here and back home for nothing. Staying one night will be good. Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun, do you mind helping me set up the tents? Ayumi-chan and Ai-kun can work on getting the firepit ready...Conan-kun and Iggy-kun should go gather some firewood."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to let Iggy-kun help with the firepit?" Shinichi pointed out. I felt Agasa's embarassment almost immediately. It didn't make much sense, sending a blind-kid out to look for firewood, but I waved his apology off.

"I'll just help Conan-niichan carry it, that's what you meant right?" I asked, sparing the guy. I appreciated it, really. It wasn't like I really enjoyed it when the first thing people thought of about me happened to be my disability. I trailed after Shinichi as we walked into the forest. "Oi, oi, is she still staring at me?"

"It's a little creepy, how you can tell." Shinichi said lightly, "But then, I guess I know by a feeling in my gut when somebody is giving me dirty looks, or when someone with bad thoughts is hanging around. Who did you think was staring at you? Haibara? Why, do you WANT her to be staring at you all the time, Iggy-kun?"

"Wha-what?" I choked. "Why would I want something like that?"

Shinichi handed me a bundle of sticks, "I'm shrugging my shoulders at you, by the way. I don't know Iggy-kun, why would a guy like for a girl to be looking at him all the time?"

"That's not what I meant." I said, heat rushing to my face as Shinichi added another bundle to the pile. I was pretty laden down already, there was an awful lot of wood hanging around this area. "I just get the feeling that she's planning something against me, that's all."

"You said as much in the car." Shinichi replied, "There, that ought to be enough for awhile now."

We walked back in silence. Obviously Shinichi thought I was over-reacting for some reason, but I couldn't shake the feeling. I found myself sitting alone as everyone else congregated. I stiffened when Ayumi sat next to me, but relaxed when I realized it was her and not Shiho. "Don't be sad, Iggy-kun. We know you didn't want to come, but everyone likes you."

"Eh? Oh, I'm not sad, Ayumi-chan." I said with a laugh, "I'm just thinking hard is all. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I'll cook you all a delicious breakfast tomorrow, would you like that?"

"Yes!" Ayumi said, and hopped away. I smiled a little but then stiffened when Shiho tapped me on my shoulder. I knew it was her instantly.

"Iggy-kun, would you mind coming with me for a moment?" She asked, and for some reason...did she sound nervous? No, that wasn't possible. It was Shiho, and I was pretty sure that the girl happened to be incapable of any sort of feeling or emotion. Including nervousness.

"What for?" I said, suspicion coating my tone.

"Afraid?" Shiho said tauntingly, "That's fine. I can go all on my lonesome."

She got up and walked away. I knew that she said that on purpose. She wanted me to follow her, it was obvious. A smarter person would have just let it go. I, apparently, am not a smarter person. That, or I'm just very easy to goade. Grumbling, I jumped off the seat I had been on and shoved my hands in my pockets. I followed the shrunken scientist, but I did it unwillingly...kinda.

**

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**

"You're lost, aren't you?" I asked. It had been at least an hour since we left camp. Night had fallen, and it had gotten considerably colder because of that. I shuddered a little, and narrowed my eyes. Shiho wasn't replying. "Hey, did you hear me? Are we lost or not? Or is this your evil plot, to make us walk around in circles until we fall down and starve?"

"What could I possibly gain by starving myself to death in the forest?" Shiho asked, but she sounded almost amused. She said nothing more than this, and our walk continued in complete silence. I sighed heavily, it seemed that whatever she had in store for me indeed had something to do with this walk.

I'm just not exactly sure what she had in mind.

Was she going to corner me for some blood samples or something? Then again, that didn't make much sense, since she had no idea I happened to be part bird. Maybe she wanted to test out how my endurance was after taking her poison? But that could have been done in the lab or something, and while I would have complained about it I would have probably ended up doing it. Maybe she just hated me, and wanted a bear to come along and devour me or something.

"It's not too far, Iggy-kun." Shiho said, startling me from my thoughts.

"Not too far to WHERE exactly?" I asked, blinking.

"To the place we're going." She replied, all mystery. I scowled to show her that I didn't find that answer all that satisfactory. "Perhaps you should have brought your coat though? It's gotten rather cold out here..."

"I'm fine, I've dealt with the elements before." I said, shrugging off her...wait, that didn't make any sense. Shiho concerned? I was dreaming or something. I sighed, and shoved my hands deeper into my pockets. "Guide away then, Shiho-san. I'm blind and can't exactly see where I'm going so try not to walk over tree-roots."

Silence. Well, that was a little awkward...I could hear the forest living around us. Rustling, breathing, moving with it's life. I almost wished she would at least say something. It sounds enchanting written down, but being able to hear the forest so clearly because the person I was walking with wouldn't talk was...well, a little creepy.

"Did you tell them we were going to be gone this long?" I suddenly asked, "I don't think Hakase will appreciate it if we drag our butts back into camp when it's this far passed dark."

"How can you tell?" Shiho asked, and,when I could only reply with a blank look of confusion, because I had know idea what she was talking about, she added, "You always seem to be able to tell the approximate time. Whether it's night, or day. Even the difference between morning and noon. How is that?"

"Th-the temperature in the air." I explained, caught off guard by the slightly random question. "You know, how it's usually hotter in the afternoon than it is in the morning? I can also kind of figure out the position the sun is in by pinpointing the way I can feel it's heat coming from. Night's a little harder, I couldn't tell you whether it was eight pm or midnight. That can be a little annoying, when you wake up in the middle of the night."

"It gets steep here, Iggy-kun. Step carefully." Shiho said, not even replying to the answer to the question she had asked. I shrugged my shoulders, trying not to let her odd speech patterns bother me all that much.

The time seemed to crawl by, but it actually kind of felt good to go hiking. It was a good way to excercise at least, and when the ground suddenly levelled out I was hyper aware of the fact that I couldn't hear the rustling of leaves very much anymore. We must have been on something pretty high up, for us to be taller than any trees.

"It's colder up here." I stated, shivering a little and rubbing my hands. It was the warm season, but it could still get a bit chilly at night time. I listened carefully for Shiho, she was getting something out of her backpack or something. "Why exactly did you bring me up here now? Are you getting some kind of plant that only grows up here or something."

"No." She replied, tapping something glass. I narrowed my eyes as I heard her stand up and begin to walk toward me. My automatic reaction was to take a quick step backwards. She stopped, and I could imagine her with her head tipped to one side as she regarded me for a moment. "Are you afraid, Iggy-kun?"

"What? No." I said, feeling a twinge of irritation. "What is it about me that makes you think that I'm some sort of coward or something? What are you holding?"

"If you aren't afraid of me, why do you keep backing away as if I'm holding a gun?" Shiho asked, taking another step toward me as I retreated back once more. I could hear something like a small smile in her voice. "What is it about me that makes you feel so uncomfortable, Iggy-kun? Is it that I'm a scientist? Is it...that you don't trust me."

"Is that why you brought me out here?" I said irritably, "Just to get me to answer that question you asked on the roof the other day? I didn't answer back then, what makes you think I'll answer you here and now?"

"What makes you so unwilling to answer?" Shiho's voice was a little sad, and this time as she stepped toward me I made myself stay put. She stepped even closer, and then walked until she was standing at my side. "The only thing that would make you not want to answer is my feelings. You don't wish to hurt the feelings of the one you do not trust?"

"I'm letting you stand next to me with whatever you've got, aren't I?" I said, through grit teeth.

"True." Shiho said lightly, "Perhaps that wasn't all that smart of you, Iggy-kun? Do you let your walls down to somebody you can't trust so easily? What if I was holding something you did not care for, or didn't like very much? What if I were to be holding a knife? After all, I was once part of the organization. Perhaps I became afraid and went crawling back to Them. Maybe I decided to kill you and Kudou-kun as compensation for becoming a traitor."

"But you aren't." I said, and I realized suddenly that I believed those words. "You didn't go crawling back to those jerks, and you aren't going to. Shinichi-kun knows that, and I know it too. There, are you happy now?"

"Do you trust me, Iggy-kun?" Shiho whispered. I tensed my shoulders, the wind sounded very loud up here. I sighed, turning away from her and facing the opposite direction. I didn't reply for awhile, just crossed my arms and stood that way for a few moments. Then I squared my shoulders, and let my hands hang loosely at my sides.

Did I trust her? Even thinking she had something in store for me, I followed her out into the middle of nowhere. I was letting her stand next to me with something in her hands that for some reason made me feel a little nervous. I clenched my fists. Would she be the type of person to betray me to the School for science?

For some reason...I...didn't think so.

I was surprised at it, that realization. It went from a simple, 'I didn't think so' to something more. She wouldn't. I knew that. She was strange, she had a weird sense of humor, and she was a scientist. But she had nothing to gain by handing me over to the School. She probably didn't have much to gain by experimenting on me either, not in her current condition. So I meant it, when I turned around and simply sighed.

"Yes." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I trust you. I'd probably get my head bashed in by all of my family, they'd call me stupid and naive. But I do, Shiho. I trust you. Does THAT make you happy? Can we GO now?"

Something stabbed into my arm. I felt myself stiffen with disbelief as I jerked away from her, rubbing the spot and glaring in her direction in utter fury. "Well, that's good." She said, in a very calm tone of voice. "The entire thing was-..."

"You...did you just take some of my blood?" I hissed in fury. "What did you just DO?"

"Be patient, didn't you just say that you trusted me?" She asked, and I trembled with rage.

"That was BEFORE you stabbed me with something!" I snapped, rubbing my arm. "Why would you DO something like that RIGHT after I said that? Shiho-san you've got the worst social skills out of everybody I know, and that's saying quite a freakin' bit since Fang happens to be in that bunch."

"I overheard them, those words you shared with Kudou-kun." Shiho said in reply. I stiffened. How was that possible? How could she have...possibly been anywhere near enough to hear what we were saying? Had the detective badges been on? It did mean one thing though, she knew it, my secret.

"So you decided to experiment." I said coolly.

"I thought it would be what is considered a kind gesture." Shiho said, and actually sounded genuinely confused. I was thrown by that. What the heck would have made her think...that this would be kind? "Are you unhappy that I overheard you? I wasn't spying on you or anything like that, Iggy-kun. I just happened to hear it."

"I'm...confused now." I said blankly.

"Has it not begun to work yet? I realize that taking it in the arm slows the affect..." Shiho said, grabbing my hand and twisting my wrist so that she could see the place she stabbed me. "Perhaps I didn't manage to inject it all after all."

"Inject...what...all?" I said, going from confused to...well, something more than confused. I was so completely lost that I couldn't think of anything to say in response. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose in an attempt to organize what little coherent thought I had left.

"It will be impossible to tell, if you keep your eyes shut like that." Shiho finally said and my eyes snapped open. "You shouldn't be worried, I would have let you have them sooner but I was making sure that there wasn't anything that could harm you. There are only three left, because I had to use some of them up to make sure they were safe. The testing was very thorough, I assure you."

"You...this is that stuff Scotch gave me isn't it. The stuff that let me see." I murmured.

"Well of course it is." Shiho replied, in a tone that told me she thought I was a complete idiot. "What other reason would I have ever had to give you an injection? I thought that Kudou-kun could be clueless..."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know right off!" I snapped, bristling, "It's not like most people come up and say, 'Hello Iggy, nice weather we're having! Oh, hope you don't mind if I stab you in the arm with this thing that I haven't explained at all!' What, did you expect me to be some sort of mindreader?"

"I would have thought it would be obvious." Shiho replied simply.

"Oi, oi!" I said, and then sighed, calming myself down. I felt a pressure behind my eyes, and leaned against the tree. "So...what you overheard...what were you talking about?"

"Do you not remember?" Shiho queried, "You and Kudou-kun were conversing before I called one night. The night after you got your sight back...you said that you didn't want to go to sleep because you knew it would be gone when you woke up. When I asked Kudou-kun what had you so down he said that you wanted to see more, like the stars...but the lights from the city prevented you from doing that."

It was coming, my temporary vision. It was hard to see at first, in the dark, but I found myself tilting my head back and hungrily gazing upward. Waiting for it to come. Starlight...

Then I saw it...how can I describe it? Is it something people take for granted, I wonder? Stars...I wanted to burn them into my mind, so that I could remember them for the rest of my life. Billions and billions of tiny shimmering dots. Bright pinpoints of light, scattered about like diamonds across an ink colored sky. It seemed so much more beautiful than can possibly be described. It made me feel big, and yet it made me feel terribly small at the same time.

It took my breath away for a moment, and the silence that stretched between us in that moment wasn't uncomfortable for once. We both just stood there, heads tilted back and eyes glued to that shining sea hanging above. Her sigh made me tear my gaze away from them for a brief moment, she was stretching, trying to look casual.

"It seems you are pleased with this then." She said, glancing at me from where she stood near the edge of the cliff. Cliff, I realized that the part we were on was a steeply inclined grassy hill, but the edge she was standing near dropped off at almost a ninety degree angle. There was a little clearing below, but I couldn't make it out very well because of the darkness. She pointed, passed the mass of trees that I could see to a glowing little campfire in the distance, "Our camp is that way. You should have your sight much longer than last time, Iggy-kun, but you'll want to be careful around the kids."

"That would make sense. They would probably be excited for me, if they knew I could see." I said, rubbing the back of my head and chuckling. I glanced at her as she turned around, "Wait a minute...are...you leaving, Shiho-san?"

"I don't wish to impede on your love affair with balls of gas and fire." Shiho replied. "I just wanted to give you the chance you wanted to see the stars, that is all."

"Why did you do this?" I asked, and I immediately felt like a jerk. The other day I hadn't been exactly kind to her, and even now, when she had been trying to help me, all I could manage to do was be skeptical and suspicious. Granted it still would have been nice to have some sort of warning or something before she decided it would be great to stick a needle in my arm...

The point was, she did it to be nice. I think...that she was genuinely trying to do something kind.

And all I could do was ask her why? Did a person really need a reason? Why was it so strange to think that a Shiho, another human-being, decided to do something nice? Wasn't my asking that basically proving her earlier point? No wonder she was skeptical as to whether I trusted her or not.

It was then that the wind picked up and her feet slipped from the edge.

* * *

Shinichi shivered as a rush of cold wind tore through the camp. The detective scooted a little closer to the fire. If he got a cold because of this he would never let Agasa live it down...or perhaps it was Haibara. Wasn't this entire trip her idea? It made sense, considering those plans she told him about.

It seemed a bit out of character for Haibara to do something so caring...or was it really? Haibara wasn't the kind of person that let you see emotion, true, but she obviously really liked Iggy. Shinichi snickered. This fact was completely obvious to him, even if Haibara did a good job at covering it up.

Haibara was strange, sure, and she could be as cold as ice. Shinichi had long since figured out that when she had moments of warmth they were very genuine. She tended to screw it up by saying something a little weird or creepy in the end though...Haibara was the kind of person that went out of her way to get a point acrossed.

Like pointing a fake gun in your face, for example.

So this really was something she would do, if Shinichi thought of it like that. She wanted Iggy to trust her, not that he blamed her at all. She already had a hard enough time feeling comfortable around the Detective Boys, Shinichi and Agasa because she was always convincing herself that she was a worthless traitor. (It was Shinichi's opinion that she didn't feel badly for betraying the Syndicate really...but felt as if she was a traitor to her sister.) It really didn't help things when Iggy treated her as if she'd bite him when he wasn't, excusing the poor choice of words, keeping an eye on her.

"Ai-kun and Iggy-kun are taking their time..." Agasa murmured, worried, "They left long before sundown, and the children have already gone to sleep. Do you think that we should go looking for them or something?"

"Eh?" Shinichi said, roused from his inner thoughts by the elderly man. He shook his head, and prodded at the burning fire with a long stick he had found next to his seat. "No. Haibara said something about giving Iggy-kun a surprise. It was that thing she's been working on for quite awhile now..."

_Oi, oi..._Shinichi said, eyes becoming slightly lidded as a thought suddenly occurred to him. _If she's been working on this project for Iggy-kun then that means...she hasn't been working on the antidote at all._

His eyebrow twitched twice.

"So that's what Ai-kun has been so intent on." Agasa said, sitting next to Shinichi. The shrunken detective practically fell off of his seat due to the confirmation of his inward realization. "Still, if they get lost or something in the woods it would be harder to find them the longer we waited."

"They're fine." Shinichi said, his despodent face switching into a smirk. "This little trip may be a good thing...for both of them I think."

**

* * *

**

Her heart had never pounded so hard in her life when she wasn't being followed by Them. Shiho glanced over her shoulder, the ground was still sickeningly far away. At least she'd somehow managed to catch herself on this small ledge before falling. Shiho breathed a small sigh of relief.

She was, quite literally, in a cliff-hanger situation. How quaint.

"Ooooi! Shiho!" Iggy's voice drifted to her from above, and she found herself glancing up into his worried face. He was at least five meters away from her, too far for her to reach from this spot. The ledge was too small to pull herself up on top of, not without loosing her balance and toppling off. "Oi! I thought you'd fallen to your death for sure!"

"You forgot '-san'." She pointed out in a deadpan. A look of amusing irritation flashed across his face.

"Wha? Do you REALLY think this is the time for that? Can you pull yourself up or what? You don't expect to hang around down there all day do you?" Iggy's expression was openly curious, and Shiho rolled her eyes up at him. How was it that he managed to pull of sarcasm in a that way?

"I can't." She replied, her hands were beginning to feel very cold. She managed to prop herself up on her elbows, at least, but still. Everytime she shifted the stone made distressing sounds. It was a little nerve racking. "It appears as though I may be stuck."

"Don't freak out or anything." Iggy's sarcastic tone would have tricked her into thinking he wasn't worried, but he couldn't hide the concern in his eyes fast enough. Shiho glanced away, unwilling to give herself that small hope. She shouldn't have even come here. Kudou could have done this just as easily as she. "Look, hang tight. I'm going to come down a bit further so I can get a hold of you."

"Baka..." She hissed under her breath, and got the feeling that Iggy had heard her anyways. Despite this the boy began to carefully lower himself down. When he was close enough to hold out his hand Shiho focused on propping herself up on one of her elbows. The stone lurched and she froze.

"Shit." He said, the foreign swear word ringing through the air. Shiho got the feeling that Iggy didn't swear all that much, it sounded odd on his tongue but he certainly meant it. His normally blind eyes flicked from Shiho, to the ledge, to his own position, to the ground below, and then back up at the top of the cliff. "Alright...so that's how things have to be..."

Just like that, he released his hold on the cliff.

**

* * *

**

Sometimes a bird-kid's gotta do what a bird-kid's gotta do. Even if it means giving out your secret. Really, what was more valuable? My own comfort, or her life? Besides, I'd just convinced myself not ten minutes ago that I truly trusted her. If I truly had trusted her I should have had no qualms showing off my wings.

The ground wasn't too far away. I mean, the fall would certainly kill you. Basically what I'm saying is that it doesn't take very long to fall a far distance. Not one this far. At least...that's what I think. See...I usually can't see, so, erm...right basically I was guessing at distances.

It was risky, but that ledge was going to give out any moment. My goal was simple, jump down so that I was below her and while I was flying catch her. Then just flap on up to the top of the cliff.

So I let go. I almost wasn't prepared when the ledge she had been on crumbled beneath her weight. I barely caught her in time, from behind. It was awkward, and I wheezed at the unexpected impact. Not only that but a bit of the falling ledge fell square on the top of my head. "Ow!"

"Baka!" Shiho snapped at me, sounding on the verge of panic. Which probably meant, in Shiho terms, that she was freaking the heck out. "It's not better if we're both killed!"

"Hold on to me." I replied through grit teeth. I knew the ground was coming up unbelievably fast. Even though these words had literally passed between us in mere seconds, we were going to hit if I didn't fly soon. I winced at the idea.

When you're in a free fall, if you ever have wings, it's just not a good idea to suddenly snap your wings open. Why? Because it happens to hurt like heck. And that's just when one is flying alone...not carrying somebody who is probably twice your weight. I braced myself as I felt her grip tighten on my arm.

I winced as I snapped my wings open. The sound of the air catching beneath my wings made my stomach lurch a little sickeningly. The muscles in my back, and my wings of course, screamed in protest. I ignored it and beat down, managing to push us up. Two, three...there we had control. I breathed a sigh of relief as we soared up passed the ledge, and I came in for the landing.

I misjudged our weight a bit, it wasn't as graceful as I would have liked, that landing. Still, I managed to stay standing. Silence stretched between us for a moment, and I let her go slowly and backed away. I, unlike her, was mindful of the edge. I crossed my arms.

Why wasn't she saying anything?

Why did that make me feel so nervous?

"Ah." She finally said, and I tipped my head to one side as she turned around. "So I see...I get it now. The things I felt that time you gave me a piggy-back ride...this makes sense."

"You're welcome?" I queried.

Nothing, no reply. She was just watching me with something like vague curiosity. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable, and I found myself glancing away to the forest floor below. She seemed upset about something, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Why did I care so much, for that matter?

Oh, right, trying to be a good friend.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Shiho-san." I said, stepping forward. My nervousness fluttered away as I winced and practically fell over. "Ouch..."

"You hurt yourself." Shiho said, and I could have sworn that she was a little angry. I winced as she sat down next to me and sighed. "It can't have been good for you, to snap your wings open like that. You forced your muscles to go against our inertia. Can you stretch them out?"

"Uh..." I blinked, and gingerly stretched them. I tried to hide the wince but she clearly saw it.

"As I thought." She said with a sigh that reminded me of someone scolding a child. "You've pulled the muscles in them. It's a good thing that they weren't torn from their sockets, or that the ligaments didn't tear. It would have been rather bad for us, if you were unable to fly us back up to safety."

Miyano Shiho...is the only person in the world who figures out that somebody they know has wings and acts as if it's your everyday average occurance.

* * *

We spent hours staring up at the stars. She kept saying something about me needing assistance, so she didn't leave. For some reason...it made me a little glad. I asked her about constellations. She said she didn't know them all that well, but her sister used to be able to point them out.

I hadn't realized she'd ever had a sister. Something in her tone told me that she didn't...not anymore. I felt a little sad for her because of that. After awhile we stopped trying to figure out what stars made what shapes. I nice silence stretched between us. We both just sat there and stared up.

"Thank you...Shiho-san." I said, glancing over at her. My neck had started hurting awhile back, so we were both on our backs in the grass. She didn't look over at me, so I looked back up at the starry sky. "It really was...a nice gift for you to have given me."

"I wasted quite a bit of time on it." Shiho replied in a dead-pan. "Kudou-kun probably won't be too happy with me when he figures out that I wasn't working on the antidote for so long."

"Aw, I think he'll get over it." I snickered at the thought of his distress at this idea. I knew how badly he wanted it, for Ran's sake. Still, he could stand to be a little less pushy towards Shiho over that. It wasn't like her only worth was the antidote. My face heated up.

A blaze of light flashed through the sky. It lasted only a heartbeat, a shimmering line that briefly graced the heavens with it's life. I blinked, and Shiho put the name to the thing I had just seen. "Shooting star."

"I've never seen one." I said, and then laughed, "I guess that would be...obvious, considering. Sometimes Max and the others would mention them...and I'd always wanted to see..."

"Well." Shiho said, glancing over at me, "Are you going to make your wish?"

Wish? I wish that everyone could be happy. Including me, as selfish as that is. That's all I want. For people to not have to worry anymore. For them to be able to take a deep breath of fresh air and calmly realize that everyhting in life was alright. I wanted Max and Fang to be together. I wanted Shinichi and Ran to be happy. I wanted the Flock to be safe. I wanted Kazuha to finally get that knuckle-head Heiji to realize just how important he is to her. I wanted the Detective Boys to have all their dreams come true. I wanted Shiho to realize that she was loved...erm...well l-liked anyways!

"I hope that one can cover it." I said aloud with a sigh.

**

* * *

**

"How embarassing..." I growled under my breath, for about the thirtieth time. Shiho didn't reply, only snorted with something that I was beginning to consider her type of laughter. "Oi, oi, what's so funny?"

"I wasn't embarassed to get a piggy-back ride from you, Iggy-kun." Shiho said, sounding faintly amused. "Are you not comfortable back there?"

"But I'm a guy." I groaned, "And it's a little embarassing to get a piggy-back ride from a girl."

"My, that was rather sexist of you." Shiho's amusement was painfully clear in her tone now. I considered tightening my grip so that she felt a little low on air, but I had the feeling that she'd find a nasty way to get revenge if I did something like that. I shuddered at the mere thought. "Are you cold?"

"No, just making sure I don't do something stupid." I replied chipperly. I knew the comment probably confused her, but I hardly cared. "It's a lucky thing that I'm so light...or you probably would be pretty tired by now."

"Are you saying that girls aren't as strong as men?" Shiho said with something like a wry smile hidden in her tone. She always did that, hid her emotions. Even when it was banter like this...banter...was bantering considered flirting? Where the heck did THAT particular thought come from? Was it your idea? Shut up, I wasn't flirting. I was bantering. There's a difference...I think.

"Oi, oi. If I said that Max'd kick my butt." I said with a wince. "It's not that she's a feminist or anything like that, but I think she'd be pretty pissed if I said something sexist to her."

"You have such a lovely family relationship." Shiho said sarcastically.

"I know, don't we?"

"Ai-kun!" Agasa's voice caught us both off guard. I hadn't realized we were so close to the camp. I felt my heat flush up in embarassment as Agasa, Shinichi, and the Detective Boys all noticed my predicament. "Did Iggy-kun fall and get himself hurt?"

A shared glance, and Shiho was nodding her head. "He stepped inside of an animal's hole on accident and managed to twist his ankle, Hakase."

"Oi, oi, you did a pretty poor job of protecting Haibara, Iggy." Genta said as I gingerly got off of Shiho's back. I glowered irritably at him, trying not to make it obvious that I could still see. It was strange, I had wanted to see these kids for so long. It was kind of nice to know I'd have some faces to put to their names, even when my sight would fail again.

"Yeah, Iggy-kun." Mitsuhiko said, getting right in my face. "Don't you realize that it's better for the boy to give the girl the piggy-back?"

"It certainly wasn't very manly of you." Shiho agreed.

"Oi! Oi!" I snapped, "Not you too!"

"The suns almost coming up." Shinichi observed, "Do you realize that it's six thirty in the morning? You two were out all night...so, did anything exciting happen while you were out there in the woods."

I could have sworn Shiho's face got slightly red, but I was too busy glancing away to try and cover up my own blush to be sure. Blush? Oi, oi! What in the world is wrong with me lately! I glanced around the camp, and couldn't help but notice that everything had been picked up.

I didn't say anything. I wasn't going to give away the fact that I could see right now away that easily. Sheesh.

"We're already leaving?" Shiho observed.

"We were going to come and look for you." Ayumi said nervously, shifting her feet a little bit. "We were scared that you had gotten lost. Ai-chan, what were you guys doing out in the forest anyways?"

"Exploring." Shiho said, lying through her teeth and not even batting an eyelash about it. It was a little freaky, how good she could do that. In fact, now that I thought about it, Shinichi's pretty good at it too...I guessed that would sort of make some sense. After all, weren't we living a lie as these children? It was a little depressing to think about.

"Erm...Haibara-san?" Mitsuhiko said nervously. Was that raw jealousy in his tone? "Why is it that...that Iggy-kun is allowed to call you by your name but we still cannot."

"He is American, and just can't wrap his head around the concept of last names. I decided it would have been easier for him if I let him use my first name. It was merely to make him feel more comfortable." Shiho replied calmly. Mitsuhiko seemed only a little convinced. I rubbed the back of my head nervously.

"Well, since the fire's been put out it seems as though we won't get any of Iggy-kun's breakfast this morning." Agasa said. All the kids groaned in protest, and I chuckled under my breath. "I'll take you all out to eat at a restaraunt when we get to the city instead. Iggy-kun, we should try and wrap that ankle of yours up before we get to the city. Ai-kun said it was just a simple sprain?"

"Yeah." I said, limping forward. As the kids began to walk toward the car, Shiho caught my eye with hers. For the briefest of instances I thought that she smiled at me, but then the moment was passed.

* * *

_**And that's the end of that!**_

_**:3**_

_**I hope that wasn't too predictable/cheesy...**_

_**Reviews are always appreciated.**_

_**After all it was a review that inspired this chapter :3**_

_**In case you were curious...**_

_**Elena Forest, when you reviewed for chapter eight you said: "**__**Eh, too bad Iggy didn't get a chance to sweep Ai off her feet and take her for a fly..."**_

_**Thank you for the inspiration. :3**_


	21. Kidnapping Before Dinner

_Disclaimer:_

_No_

_**Oh, and the beginning part of the chapter is a gift to Elena Forest, for inspiring that lovely IggyAi chapter back there. :3 Thank you for all of your fanart and support, I really appreciate it. **_

_**Elena Forest- Sorry, I have random little muse explosions and they're usually at night. X3 I hope you enjoy this chapter. **_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- X3 That was my favorite part of the chapter (when Shinichi realized no work had been done) I could see the expression on his face so clearly when I wrote that. He's got such a funny annoyed face, Shinichi. -pokes Shinichi with stick- As for Agasa not knowing...it was probably just more convenient not to tell him. She didn't want to waste time explaining it, but she was also aware of the fact that somebody should probably know where she went for like three hours. :3**_

_**Ashimattack- I bought the entire anime series the other day, of Furuba I mean. (I probably wouldn't be able to afford DC, even if they had it out...) X3 I'm glad you've loved it. Here's the next chapter...**_

**

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**

_Chapter Twenty-one- Kidnapping Before Dinner_

"NO!" Shinichi yelped, frustration clear in his tone. I grinned, leaning back once more and basking in the purely beautiful glory of victory. "Geez, how is this even possible."

"You suck?" I informed him, "I mean REALLY getting your tail handed to you in video games against two little kids like Mitsuhiko and Genta is one thing, but loosing to somebody who is blind?"

I heard him grind his teeth, and then could imagine him cutting a sideways glance at me. "I know what you did now, before that drug finally wore off...you spent hours in your bedroom. At first I thought maybe you were reading manga or something, or maybe even looking at art. You memorized the courses on this racing game, didn't you?"

"Maaybe~!" I said with a smirk, "Does it really change the fact that I totally kicked your butt?"

Shinichi's complaints could be heard through the entire house after that, which was okay since Ran was out with Kogoro buying groceries. She was going to bring us along first, apparently, but Kogoro had said something stupid that had irritated her so she dragged him out the door.

It had been nearly a week since the camping trip, and I really thought it would have been long enough for me to pull this little trick on Shinichi without him figuring out how I had done it. Inwardly I shrugged, you win some you loose some. Trying to trick Shinichi was no easy feat.

"When will they be back? If they don't hurry Fang and the others will show up before they get home." I said. Hattori had called with something of a mischevious tone in his voice and invited himself over for a week. Yes, invited himself, the guy has no qualms whatsoever. I don't think that Ran minded though, since Kazuha and Fang would be joining him.

So she had to get more food, since he had called from the station without warning.

"What was with that guy anyways?" Shinichi pondered aloud, "If he's planning something..."

"What? Hattori plan something? No, never..." I replied, though I was feeling a tad on the nervous side. The detective could have been thinking of ways to get me back for turning his own plot against him at that restaraunt all those days ago. Especially if he knew about what happened at that camping trip...

Not that anything of any importance that would change ANYTHING at all had happened there.

Don't be ridiculous.

The door opening startled us a little, but it was only Ran and Kogoro. This was easy enough to tell immediately because Kogoro was complaining that he didn't have one can of beer for dinner just because Ran was in a mean mood. The reality of that situation being that Kogoro was already basically trashed and Ran wasn't going to put up with him getting even worse when she had some of her friends coming over. (Not that they hadn't seen the old man drunk before...)

"Thank goodness they aren't here yet." Ran said, sounding immensely relieved. "Conan-kun, Iggy-kun, would you two mind helping me in the kitchen a bit? Iggy-kun I want you to rinse these off, and Conan-kun could you please get the table set for me?"

"Ran-neechan, if you need help I could help cook." I said, jumping up onto my stool (gah!) and turning the water on. She handed some vegetables to me and I thoroughly rinsed them off. "I really like to cook! I used to do it all the time, since nobody else could cook to save their lives..."

"You cooked?" Ran said, sounding confused. She patted me on the head, and I understood that she thought I was just being cute. Little Iggy, making up stories. Why did that rub me the wrong way so badly, "Thank you, Iggy-kun. Perhaps you can make me breakfast someday?"

"Maybe." I replied a little grouchily, stung by her instant disbelief of my mad skills.

"Don't be angry. It'd be hard to believe even if I told her that, she didn't mean it was because you were blind. It's your size." Shinichi advised me in a quiet whisper. I felt a flash of shame. Oh, right. I guess I shouldn't be angry with her for jumping to conclusions when I do the same thing.

The phone rang and I rushed to answer the phone, unfortunately Ran beat me to the punch. She ruffled my hair affectionately as I crossed my arms and grumbled over the fact that she had an unfair advantage with longer legs. "Hello, this is Mouri Detective Agency...Oh! Hello!"

"Is that Heiji-niichan?" Shinichi asked, making himself sound as young and curious as possible. "Eh? No, who is it?"

"I wish people wouldn't just nod or shake their heads around me." I said, just for the sake of saying something really, "It can be really confusing when somebody continues on with their sentences like that. Sounds kinda like Conan-niichan is just talking with himself like a crazy person."

"You really think you're funny, don't you?" Shinichi hissed at me, I only smirked in reply.

"Well...yes that'd be alright. We're already having a group of friends come over for dinner anyways...no, don't feel badly for asking on such short notice." Ran's smile could be heard just in her tone, "I said that I'd pay her back for those things I ruined, and I will! How many people are coming?...eh? Five?...I'll make some food for you to bring her, if you like! Okay, you have the address right? You can bring that cute little dog you had with you too, we have two little boys that will probably like to play with him and pet him. See you later then!"

"Who was that, Ran-neechan?" I asked, curious as to who else could be coming to our dinner. "Friends from your school? Is it Sonoko-neechan? I didn't think she had a pet..."

"No, it was just a girl I ran into at the supermarket the other day." Ran said simply, "I bumped into her and ruined some of her groceries so I invited her over for a dinner. I was a bit surprised though, because a boy called instead of her. He said she's not very good at Japanese though. It was very amusing, it sounded like there were some people in the background chanting, 'Good food! Good food!' over and over."

"Ah-le-le, this doesn't look like enough food for that many people, Ran-neechan." Shinichi said, "Iggy-kun and I could go down to the supermarket for you and get the rest of what you need! Heiji-niichan should be coming soon, so if you leave now you'll miss him!"

"Thank you, Conan-kun, Iggy-kun." Ran said as we both practically rushed out the door. Sheesh, Shinichi would roll over and beg if Ran asked him to, I swear. Oh well, that's kind of nice of him anyways, to practically leap at the chance to make things easier for her.

**

* * *

**

"When will this rain let up?" I complained, at least we had an umbrella I guess. Still, I sneezed and rubbed my nose. "At this rate the entire country of Japan will be covered in water..."

"That's highly improbably Iggy-kun." Shinichi said with an amused chuckle, "You're in a complaining mood today, ne? What's wrong with you? Has it been too long since you were around Haibara last?"

"What the heck does that have to do with anything?" I said with a scowl. Shinichi's only reply was an amused snicker. I rolled my eyes, and continued walking forward. "I don't know...I've just got a weird feeling that's all."

"Like when those men broke into the school?" Shinichi asked, I frowned.

"Kinda...maybe...I don't know." I rubbed my head, "Maybe I'm just getting tired of being treated like a little kid! Sheesh, and I think it sucks for me. What about you? Doesn't it...I don't know, embarass you to have Ran treat you that way sometimes? I know I wouldn't like it very much if someone I had the hots for treated me like a little kid..."

"I've gotten used to it I guess." Shinichi said, but I could hear the frown in his voice. "That hardly even bothers me anymore, I've come to expect it from almost anybody actually. If they think I'm a little kid then I'm keeping my secret well enough to avoid suspicion. It was terrifying, those times that Ran treated me like...like I was Shinichi."

"You are." I pointed out, "You mean she almost figured it out?"

"Several times." Shinichi sighed.

"That's to be expected though, right? Isn't that...I dunno, almost a good thing Shinichi-kun?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. "I'd have my feelings a little hurt if Max or somebody would be unable to know who I was right away. Maybe that's a little stupid and childish but..."

"When I first met Ran she really had no reason to believe I was Shinichi." Shinichi pointed out, "I hadn't 'disappeared' quite yet. True, she hadn't seen me since she left Tropical Land, but I wasn't gone long enough for her to tag my appearance to her missing best friend. The glasses help too..."

"I guess they would, when they're as big and dorky as yours are." I said casually.

"Oi, oi, dorky?" Shinichi said, sounding irritated. I stuck my tongue out at him and he continued, "I had to have Haibara dress as Conan once, just to convince her we weren't the same person. It was the closest I ever came to revealing everything to her, you know that? Well...I guess I came a bit close, when she lost her memory that time."

"You have a lot of dramatic things happen to you." I said with a twinge of amusement. Shinichi snorted. "Maybe, when all of this is over, you and Ran should just lock yourselves up in a cabin somewhere and stay alone for the rest of your lives. You can solve cases via webcam or something techy like that. Think of all the lives that will be saved without your bad luck killing them off?"

"Ha-ha." Shinichi said flatly. Then, very softly, "It will be over. Soon."

"With you on the case I wouldn't doubt it." I said with a grin. I stopped suddenly, a wave of nervousness washing over me. It took Shinichi a moment to realize I'd halted (really, the guy's so freaking observant every other time, but when it comes down to me getting drenched because he keeps walking after I've stopped...) and walked back to stand next to me.

"Iggy-kun?" Shinichi asked.

"I feel...like I'm being watched." I said, and knew that Shinichi was scanning the crowd around us. "Do you see anybody out of the ordinary?"

"No." Shinichi finally said, "I don't see anything, Iggy-kun. Come on, we should keep moving. Ran will need to get that dinner started as soon as possible if we want to eat before ten tonight."

My friend shoved me forward, and I complied. If he, Kudo Shinichi, couldn't see anything I probably didn't have much to worry about did I? Maybe I was just being weird or something. Or maybe I was hungry. Whatever the reason, I wanted to get inside the supermarket as soon as possible. I was grateful when we stepped inside.

"She must be making stew." Shinichi commented, "We need more meat...Iggy-kun you can do that can't you? I'll go get some more of the vegetables and stuff..."

I wandered away from Shinichi.

It was one of the most stupid things I've ever done.

"Onee-san..." I asked, pressing my face against the glass. "I need some meat for stew...my Nee-chan is having a bunch of friends over tonight! Can you get me some of it please?"

As the woman gushed about how utterly adorable I was, she bagged the meat. I wasn't all that surprised when she said I could have a discount, since I was such a little cutey. Oi, don't judge me. If you got it then flaunt it, ne? I thanked her as she handed me the bag and walked down the aisle.

A heavy hand clamped on my shoulder. The stench of Eraser, so damned obvious that I felt like an idiot, washed over me like a sick wave. "Don't attract attention, we already have your little friend with us. Would you oh-so kindly come outside with me?"

"Ah, if it isn't Goichi." I said, forcing my voice to remain calm. We walked outside, and I darted away from him to the side. Where he couldn't reach me, "Where the hell is he?"

"Iggy-kun, just go!" Shinichi said, answering my question for me. I could tell that he was being held by somebody, another Eraser. I scowled in irritation. "You can get out of here, just...you know, get away. I'll be fine!"

"We'll break his neck." Goichi stated, contradicting Shinichi. "You fly away from us and we won't hesitate to do it, you know I'm not lying. What's one damn brat compared to the sea of the whole world?"

"Ignore them!" Shinichi yelled, surely a scene was starting. People were surrounding us, murmuring in surprise. They didn't know what was going on...or what to really do. "They're lying to keep you here, you know that! If they killed me here, in front of all of these people, they'd never get away with it!"

"Are they filming a movie?" Somebody asked in confusion.

"Is this for real?" Another person queried.

"True..." Goichi said slowly, "We probably wouldn't be able to kill him, not here. Ah-le-le...there is that other thing that we could do! Iggy-kun...How would you like your friend to become an Eraser? Or maybe we could try adding a little snake DNA in there...how would you like that? Run away now and your little friend gets locked in a cage. Tucked nicely away..."

"People would notice!" Shinichi growled.

"Fine." I said, "Just let him go. I won't come near you unless you drop him now."

"Iggy-kun!" Shinichi snapped.

"Oi, oi, do you really think I'm that stupid, Boy-san?" Goichi growled, sounding irate.

The squeal of tires behind me made people scream and scatter. Somebody yelled to call the police, they didn't think this was an act. Somebody else screamed for them to do something. I heard Shinichi cry out in pain as he was flung to the concrete, and the next thing I knew I was shoved in a sack.

"You're lucky, you damn brat." Goichi snarled as I struggled, "That I'm a man of my word. Sorry about the disturbance, ladies and gentlemen~! Step close to me, and I'd just love to shoot you in the face! Au revoir!"

I was thrown into the trunk of a car.

* * *

"Call the police!" Shinichi said, whirling around. He froze, half in shock and half in dismay. Cameras...what? The shrunken teenager let his sharp eyes scan the area. Several of them. Damn, damn, DAMN! Relieved laughter came from the crowd, some girl squealed about the chance that her face would be on television.

Adults that held cameras, versus a little boy.

They'd never believe him. Shinichi grit his teeth, watching with a feeling of incredibly frustrating helplessness as the car sped off. The license plate was covered, of course. It was an inspicous model, one that could be lost among thousands. The detective took a steadying breath.

But they didn't know who they were dealing with.

_So you can find him with the tracking glasses..._Shinichi thought, referring to another invention that Agasa had cooked up for him. His glasses came with several nifty features, two of them including bullet proof lenses and a radar for certain tracking devices. The devices included some things that Shinichi could plant on others, as well as the Detective Badges that the members of the Detective Boys possessed.

In other words, finding and following Iggy wasn't the problem. As long as they stayed within twenty kilometers of Shinichi he'd be able to find them, he even had an extra pair in case the batteries ran out. (Because for some reason whenever he needed the damn things the most THAT'S when the batteries would die...)

What the hell could he hope to do? He only had three soccerballs in his belt. The belt was another invention Agasa made him, that could produce a soccerball at just the touch of a button. He could change the size of these balls by adjusting the air that entered into them. Unfortunately they only lasted ten seconds, so whenever Shinichi used this method he had to act fairly quickly.

There was the tranquilizer in his watch...so basically he could take care of four people.

He could always wing it, and kick anything lying around at them, but that was a pretty risky and stupid thing to rely on. Shinichi would do Iggy little good if he ran into the place, pissed them off by knocking a few of them out, and then got himself kidnapped. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Those jerks wanted Iggy because he was one of those bird-kids the news always talked about...

_Wait..._Shinichi thought, hand flying to his chin as his mind began working. _Super-human strength...Fang-kun! Right!_

Shinichi whirled, he had to get back to the agency! It was while he was halfway through this movement that he was suddenly hauled in the air by the back of his shirt collar. In case you were curious, getting picked up in that manner happened to be on the top ten list of things Shinichi hated most about being stuck in this tiny body. He was turned around so that he could be eye level with his assailant, "Hattori!"

"Yo, Kudou." Hattori said, a smirk on his features, "What exactly are ya doin', standin' in the rain and pacin' back and forth like that? Somethin' happen?"

Shinichi's eyes flicked passed Hattori's shoulder, to Fang. The teen blinked a little questioningly at him, "Iggy-kun...was just kidnapped by the people who took our school hostage." Shinichi ground out. Fang's eyes narrowed, "I can find him easily enough, but there isn't any possible way that I'D do him any good. Not against Erasers."

"Eh?" Hattori said, "Erasers...? Wait, Iggy-kun's been kidnapped?"

"It'd be faster, to fly." Shinichi also added. Fang blinked.

"Yes, probably." The dark haired boy replied.

"Great, nobody's gonna clue Hattori in on this one, are they?" Hattori grumbled, looking put out and irritated. "So Iggy-kun's been kidnapped by some thugs, but not the guys in black right?"

"No, they aren't those people." Shinichi said, wincing slightly. "But I wouldn't let that be something to put us off guard. These people obviously know what they're doing, they made a mistake before but they're smart enough to correct it now. Has Fang-kun told you that he can fly yet?"

"No, but I figured as much." Hattori said, smirking when Fang looked at him in confusion. "Oh, it's not that you're bad at covering it up or anythin'. It's my job."

"He looked up your name, and easily added you with the Flock because of the fact that you were searching for flying children." Shinichi said, "In fact, he probably stumbled on that website of yours. I don't think you're all that surprised though, if you had really wanted to keep things about that quiet you wouldn't have used your real name. Especially when it's as unique as yours. I did the same thing, after Iggy-kun told me about him. I was curious as to what connections you had with him."

"So, how can you find him then." Fang said slowly.

"The tracking glasses..." Shinichi frowned, "Though we probably wouldn't do much good, just going as ourselves...Hattori it'd probably be dangerous..."

"Ya have ta ask?" Hattori said with an arrogant grin. "Let's fire those glasses up, how many people can ya fly with?"

"Uh...definitely not two." Fang said, "I probably wouldn't be able to carry you, Hattori-kun. Not for a long distance or anything like that. I probably wouldn't even be able to get very far off the ground. Kudou-kun won't be much of a problem though, I can easily carry him for a little bit."

"We have an extra pair of tracking glasses, back at the agency." Shinichi said, "Fang-kun can carry me, and Hattori can come as back-up on his motorbike."

**

* * *

**

I was shoved from my burlap sack into a cage. I knew it, even though I couldn't see it. There's a feeling akin to claustrophobia that always comes down on me when I'm in a cage. Only it's worse, because I know that the brief moments I'm out of that cage will only be filled with poking and prodding. Relentless pain...

"You could have had better surroundings." Goichi sneered, "But you had to be a little brat the last time we tried to pick you up, didn't you? I hope you don't mind...the docs around here didn't clean that cage out except to remove the body of the last thing to live in it. Does it smell of death?"

I wouldn't answer him.

"Tch. Fine, be difficult. It only makes it harder for you in the long run." Goichi snorted, and I grunted involunatarily as he slammed my cage back. My head cracked against the bars, blood started to flow off of my forehead. "Ah, seems the little baby got a bit of a boo-boo..."

"Back up off the speciman, Goichi-kun." Came a slightly angry voice. "She won't come if you kill it, there is no reason for her to avenge the death of somebody she doesn't know. This one is young, fragile."

"I hadn't realized they'd made one that was as small as this." Goichi snorted in reply. I rubbed my head in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, it didn't work. "I thought that the youngest was that little girl. Specimen Eleven or something like that, ne? So...who is this little boy exactly?"

"It is quite the conundrum. I would think that this was proof that they could merely breed...but that would make little sense. It doesn't look as though the ages would match up." The other man observed. "Greetings, Boy-san. My name is Cyril. How are you feeling?"

I only arched an eyebrow in reply. Turns out you don't need to use words sometimes to be sarcastic, especially when somebody asks something as stupid as that particularly last question. Goichi growled at me, but Cyril seemed to be holding him off from causing me any harm.

"Can you tell me where you came from?" He asked.

_Act like a little kid, lie through your teeth. _I thought, because if they knew I was part of the Flock I'd be that much easier to use against Max. I couldn't, wouldn't, let that happen. No. "I want my Nii-chan..."

"Don't be difficult!" Goichi snarled, slamming the cage around. I winced as my head slammed into the bars again, "You keep complaining like that then your going to end up in an even smaller cage. Tell the man where you came from."

"America." I said, trying to sound like a scared little boy. "My parents were dead, and I was a-adopted...please, can I just go home? I'm scared..."

"Fascinating...is it possible that they missed one of the ones they distributed to? Do your adoptive parents know about the wings you have?" Cyril said.

"No..." I replied, "I was too scared to tell them."

"Interesting indeed...and were you born blind?"

"Uhm...I think so." I said. Goichi seemed on the verge of snapping in the corner, but I ignored him. "Oji-san, please can you let me go? There is a big dinner my Nee-chan is making, and I'm supposed to help her..." I was rambling, desperate to play on this guy. There was something about him that made him seem weaker than Goichi, "I don't want to be here. I wanna go home."

"Unfold your wings so we can take a picture." Cyril said gently, "And then maybe we'll take you home. Ne, Goichi-san?"

"Yes. Maybe." Goichi said, the sneer so clear in his voice that I knew even if I was really five years old I never would have fallen for that. Not even for an instant. I backed myself up so that my back was pressed against the bars of the cage and stayed that way. "Listen you little brat..."

"Boy-san..." Cyril said, "Just unfold your wings."

"No." I replied, stubborn now. The cute little kid act was all but thrown out the window. I hated how childish I sounded when I added, "I don't want to."

My cage was picked up. I knew by the way it lurched underneath me, and it was slammed against the wall with a loud clatter. My head smacked the back bars and my ears started to ring. Cyril said something about being careful not to crack my head open, and that just made me feel as if my brains were beginning to leak out.

I passed out.

* * *

They were getting ready to leave the apartment when the laptop started beeping. High pitched beeping noises that were really irritating. Max grimaced and shot a look to Nudge who ran to make it stop. She returned a moment later looking pale and held the opened computer out to Max.

_MAXIMUM RIDE_ was written all over the screen in block letters. There were some Japanese symbols as well. Dylan informed her that they basically spelled out what her name would be. _WE HAVE ONE OF YOUR KIND. UNLESS YOU'D LIKE TO DOOM THIS CHILD TO A LIFE YOU COULD NOT ENDURE COME TO TOUTO TOWER._

"They might as well have added, 'ps. this is a trap' on the bottom. Do they really think you're that stupid Max?" Gazzy complained, "How'd they find the laptop though, that's what I'm wondering. What if they can trace us and find us or something like that..."

"It's not that. This signal was sent to every laptop within about seven hundred miles." Nudge commented, fingers flying across the keyboard. "Hold on, I think something else is trying to go through."

It was a picture. Blurry, and barely distinct. It showed what looked like a little kid with wings curled up in a cage. Total let out a nervous sounding whine and Nudge had stopped typing completely. Max felt her stomach clench a little bit. Dylan turned the computer around to look at it with a serious expression on his face.

"It could be doctored..." Nudge murmured but it sounded as though she wasn't thoroughly convinced. There was something very real about that picture, it bothered Max to no end. Still...

It COULD be doctored. It was OBVIOUSLY a trap. They were expecting her to go...

"We've got a dinner to go to." Max said gently, closing the laptop. "Nudge is right. It's probably something made up in an attempt to trick us is all. Let's go."

**

* * *

**

Heiji took the steps two at a time. Fang and Kudou were waiting for him at the end of the block, it was all basically up to him to get the glasses and meet up with them before they took off. When he flung open the door he ignored the surprised looks from Ran, Kogoro and Kazuha and headed straight for where Kudou had said the glasses would be.

"Bingo." The Osakan teenager hissed through his teeth as he shoved them in his pocket. He headed for the door but was stopped when Kazuha practically wrenched his shoulder from it's socket grabbing him. "Ahou! I've got to get movin'! I don't...have...time..."

He realized partially through his sentence just how incriminating those words were. A nervous laugh escaped his mouth as Kazuha tilted one slender eyebrow up at him. "What don't you have time for, Heiji?"

"W-well...ehehehe...see the kids got a little confused and didn't bring enough cash for the dinner! That's it! So I have ta get back to em' and give them this!" Heiji jangled the change he had in his pocket, "So I gotta go if we all want to eat dinner on time!"

"Heiji!" Kazuha yelled as he whirled around and practically leaped out of the door. Thank goodness for that, he didn't think he'd handle much more questioning. He was bad at lying.

* * *

"Finally!" Fang hissed through his teeth as Hattori's bike came to a screeching halt next to them. He leaned down and picked up Shinichi from under the arms. "I'm sorry, you probably aren't going to be very comfortable but it's kind of the only way I can carry you."

"I don't care." Shinichi ground out.

Fang wondered just how close the shrunken detective had gotten to his friend Iggy. It was a little strange that he felt a twinge of jealousy at the fact. He shoved it aside. Iggy was still his friend. This little mission could end in failure. In fact there was a large chance that it would. Yet Shinichi seemed convinced that somehow they'd end up on top.

"Let's go then." Hattori said, revving the engine on his bike. "We don't got a lot of time do we?"

Fang nodded grimly, and headed for the alley. It wouldn't be so great if he took off in the middle of the street. Just as he turned to go that way though he heard something that made him stiffen so much that Shinichi let out an irritated, "Ow! Watch it!"

"Fang?"

How was it that he was in one of the biggest cities in the world, and he still managed to run into her? Fang turned around slowly, wincing at the way his heart started to pound. Hating how happy he was to see her, and how unhappy that made him at the same time. "Hey Max."

**

* * *

**

_**So I leave it there!**_

_**ZOMFG! Iggy's kidnapped!**_

_**Gotta go rescue him!**_

_**But then Max ran into Fang! -gasps-**_

_**:3 Reviews please.**_


	22. Rescue Mission

_Disclaimer:_

_Do not own it_

_**I watched Movie 8 of DC yesterday!**_

_**It was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!**_

_**Because I'm a die-hard ShinRan fan and practically DIED of happiness when EEE! -squeals and kicks feet-**_

_**I can't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet. ;3**_

_**Em Phantom- X3 Happy late birthday and end of school. Hope you'll like his rescue as much as the kidnapping itself...that is, if they can save him. -winks-**_

_**Elena Forest- X3 But being evil is one of my favorite things to do.**_

**

* * *

**

_Chapter Twenty-two- Rescue Mission_

"Hey Max." Rain was pouring down around them, Max felt as though she'd had her heart ripped from her chest. Fang...Fang was standing right there. Looking as if nothing strange had happened. As if they had only been apart for a few hours. Her brown eyes narrowed, she felt her hands clench into fists.

The dark-skinned teenager next to Fang quickly asked something in Japanese, but it was ignored by him. He was just staring at her with a mixture of shock and...was that happiness?

"Fang?" Nudge queried, breaking Fang out of whatever trance he was in. Max grit her teeth and focused on keeping her breathing regular. She would have liked to kick Fang in the gut, but on closer inspection she realized that he was carrying a little boy in his arms for some reason. "What...I mean...uh..."

"Hey guys..." Fang waved and then grimaced. "Look, any other time I'd probably spend some time with you and talk. It turns out that...erm, I'm kinda busy right now."

**

* * *

**

Shinichi and Hattori both laughed nervously at that. Kind of busy? That was a teensy bit of an understatement. If they didn't hurry they wouldn't have a chance to find Iggy at all. At least he had been able to bring the situations attention back to Fang by kicking him in the thigh like that.

"Kinda...busy?" The girl who Shinichi remembered was Maximum said. He knew that look on a girl. That was the look of a girl who was about to kick the ass of the guy who'd pissed her off. It was easily recognizable, especially when you happened to have a childhood friend who was the Karate Champion.

_Oi, oi...if she's going to beat him up at least make him put me down first..._Shinichi thought with a nervous twitch of his eyebrow. He glanced over at Hattori who was looking between the girl and Fang with something crossed between urgency and amusement on his face. Right, they didn't have time for this.

"Let's go, before those people do something awful to Iggy-kun." Hattori pointed out, getting on his bike. "Sorry, Fang-kun."

"No, it's fine. That's more important." Fang looked serious but winced a little at the suddenly interested faces of everyone in the group. Shinichi face-palmed, literally slapped his face with his own hand. Hattori mentioned Iggy's name...

"That's right. You said you knew an Iggy, the other day." Nudge said, placing a finger against her chin. Shinichi was suddenly thankful for the Detective Boys. "That's why we..."

The girl seemed a bit nervous suddenly. Which made sense, since that had been when they had practically hypnotized him into taking them to the agency. Shinichi found himself glancing nervously at Angel, who was looking at him with her head tipped to one side.

"This Iggy's his adopted brother." She announced, making Shinichi blink. Well...that was kind of true he supposed, the shrunken detective laughed a nervous laugh inside of his own head. "You know about the Flock, you know that I can read your mind."

_Creepy little girl._ Shinichi thought, a direct reply to that last comment. She returned his flat stare with a death-glare. They needed to get moving, this was taking too long. If they didn't hurry Iggy would be hurt, and he would be damned if the fault of it all would be because he hadn't been able to focus.

"The kid's with me, isn't he Angel?" Fang said in a slightly deadpan voice. "We need to save his...brother. Get those glasses started up then, Conan-kun. We need to get going."

"His brother was kidnapped?" Angel queried, Fang looked slightly irritated.

"Is he...a bird-kid too?" Gazzy said, blinking with wide eyes. "Wow, that'll be kind of confusing. Two bird-kid Iggys...hehehe..."

"So it was real then, the laptop message." Dylan added, looking serious he added everything to Max in her own language. The girl narrowed her eyes and spread her wings wide. Shinichi, Hattori, and Fang all twitched a little as several people stopped and pointed in surprise.

"I think...she did that because she's mad." Fang said with a twitch of his eyebrow, "Usually Max is a little more careful than that..."

"I know where he is. Let's go." Max said sharply, and took off. Shinichi blanched as Fang quickly followed suit without any sort of warning at all. The rain whipped like needles in his face as Fang attempted to keep up with the angry teenager in front of them. Shinichi glanced behind them at the ground below.

_Oi, oi...I hope they don't regret this..._Shinichi thought.

* * *

Cyril sat next to Goichi, rubbing his hands together. It was a poor attempt at keeping them warm. He didn't like it up here, so close to the top of the tower in the rain. Pedestrians weren't supposed to hang around this part because it was dangerous...with the metallic structure wet from the downpour...

"You shouldn't worry yourself, Cyril-san." Goichi growled, "I would have liked to give that punk-ass brat some more attention down there. Something isn't normal about him. No...he's different...apart from being a freak there's something else about him that's off. That's strange..."

"It's odd..." Cyril murmured aloud. "That there would be a hybrid we wouldn't know about. Perhaps one of the experiments we thought was dead survived, and some people found him somehow...but no. That doesn't make sense. All the dead ones are cremated."

"The way he was acting in there." Goichi snarled, baring his fangs at Cyril as if it were his fault, the way the boy was. "It wasn't how he was at the school at all. That damned kid is smart. I know it. He figured out a way to take us down at the school with the help of that other brat with him..."

"Perhaps it's the other boy who was smart?" Cyril queried. "Mmmm...as far as I know the only blind one is the one flying around with the Ride girl all the time. Iggy."

"That's the brats name too. What a coincidence." Goichi snorted irritably, shoving his hands into his pockets. The Eraser narrowed his eyes suddenly squinting into the distance. He held a hand over his eyes, as if it would help him get a better view. "Oi..."

"What?" Cyril asked, "Is that them? Are they-"

"No." Goichi said, "Just my imagination."

**

* * *

**

Damn. Damn it all to Hell! Scotch bit his lip as his finger itched to pull the trigger, but the man had stepped back into the shadows of the tower. He was all but invisable, even with the scope. Scotch felt a tremor of fear. They had his experiment, but what was worse was the fact that technically they had THEIR experiment back.

If they were to discover that the boy had been shrunk somehow they'd look into it.

The organization could never be discovered, even by other's that did dirty business. It meant they had an advantage, if they kept themselves secret from everyone. Those that knew about the organization usually died...or didn't dare speak of it for fear of the death that would come if they did.

He should have just figured out where Sherry was living a long time ago and left it at that. No, he should have told them at the beginning when he found the boy. He would have gotten good words then. If they found out he had hidden this now...Scotch's lip began to bleed. He had chewed it too much.

Death. Death would surely come to him, if it was discovered that he hid this information.

He leaned forward, peering through the scope. There, a clean shot. It would be easy, no person would ever find-...

...

...

The sound of footsteps behind him, hands clapping together. Echoing in the darkness behind him. Scotch's stomach squeezed in terror, he found himself turning slowly around. A scream died in his throat, he was too paralyzed with fear to make any of his muscles work. Even the ones used to cry out in fear.

"What's this?" Gin said. Cold eyes, heartless eyes, that seemed to pierce his very soul, narrowed in cruel contempt. "It seems you've taken some things that you weren't allowed to borrow."

"G-Gin...V-Vodka." Scotch looked between the two, real fear coursing through his veins.

"Personal business?" Vodka said, he couldn't command the fear that Gin did though. Even though the broad-shouldered man had spoken Scotch couldn't tear his eyes away from the man with long hair trailing behind him. "Aniki, it seems that you were right about this one. He just likes to use things he thinks belong to him..."

"N-nooo!" Scotch interrupted, "Sorry! Sorry! It's not like that! It's not like that, I have reasons! Fo...for the..."

Fear stopped his words, because Gin was smiling. He only ever smiled when he got to kill somebody, for he was a man that strongly thirsted for blood. Scotch's hands trembled, a black pistol was raised, a shot fired.

* * *

The tower. Shinichi pressed the button on his glasses, and nodded. "He's hidden in one of the buildings nearby!" Shinichi said, a sudden gunshot rang out, and Fang swerved around in surprise. Max had come to a sudden halt as well, looking around for the source of the sound.

_Gunfire?_ Shinichi thought, eyes scanning the area. Almost immediately he spotted something that made his heart lurch with surprise. A black porsche. _Gin!_

"Not shooting at us." Fang said after a moment. "Chances are though, that somebody is in trouble."

_Damn!_ Shinichi thought. Gin, Gin was here! He could get a lead, follow them...do something that would bring him closer to bringing those bastards down. No, but no. Iggy was in trouble right now, Iggy had been kidnapped. Shinichi grit his teeth, did Fang and Max truly need his help?

"Fang." Shinichi said sharply, "Land now. We need to get to Hattori and regroup."

_Let's hurry and get Iggy saved...before they leave!_

**

* * *

**

Hattori glanced nervously at Kudou. They were discussing ideas of getting into the warehouse while getting the least amount of injury possible, yet Kudou kept glancing in the opposite direction as to where the glasses said Iggy would be. Hattori knew that look. It was the look Kudou got when he had a lead...on Them.

Or a chance of a lead.

Kudou was a brilliant detective, but a lot of his reasoning went out the window in his desperation to catch Them. He was never so reckless in his regular cases as he was when facing against those men in black, which was made even more dangerous because of the fact that they were nothing compared to the average murderers they met.

Yes, those people could make a murderer seem average.

"Kudou..." Hattori said, kneeling next to him as the group above them continued to toss around ideas. "This doesn't seem right...about Them. A shot fired with no silencer?"

"Yes...They wouldn't make a mistake so easily." Kudou replied, narrowing his eyes behind his fake glasses. "It's almost as if...They wanted to attract attention."

"Eh?" Hattori blinked, and glanced over his shoulder, "Why would They do somethin' like that?"

* * *

Pain. I could count it along with my heartbeat. It seemed to coincide somehow. I wondered, a little groggily, if my heart stopped beating how it would affect the throbbing in my head. It felt as if someone had given me a drug or something. Like I couldn't possibly bring myself to think straight ever again.

I was tired...

The door creaked open, and I lifted my head. I winced, involuntarily, as it caused a particularly sharp stab of pain when I did that. I grit my teeth, and tried to get into some sort of sitting position. If I moved too quickly I knew that I'd end up just passing out again. Had I passed out once? I could hardly remember.

"Well, it seems that you just get yourself into trouble." A soft sigh breathed near the cage. It didn't fit with what happened earlier today, didn't fit at all. I was confused, "Stay still, Iggy-kun. It won't take long for me to get this open. A simple dog cage, you'd think that if they were so bent on capturing somebody they'd tighten their security."

"Shiho...san?" I said slowly, hardly able to process what was going on. "How...why?"

"I was at home when my computer recieved a mail. The picture was fuzzy, and the message wasn't truly for me...but I could tell it was you." Shiho replied, I winced at the sharp creaking noise the cage door made as she swung it open. "As I thought, it was laughably easy. Getting you out of here might be harder though, with you almost ready to faint."

"I'm not gonna faint." I told her, blinking as her hand closed around mine. She helped me to stand up and I chuckled, "So how exactly did you get to me then? Don't tell me you know some secret ways of knocking an Eraser on their tails?"

"Being small isn't all bad, Iggy-kun." Shiho murmured, leading me to the door. "I crawled through the ventilation."

"Oi, oi..." I croaked, and almost laughed at the idea of Shiho clambering through a ventilation shaft. "I've officially heard everything now. I know a person who actually crawled through a vent...hehehe..."

"You'll get a chance to try it too. Come on, Iggy-kun." Shiho said.

**

* * *

**

They were running towards the building when Shinichi saw the porchse pull away out of the corner of his vision. "Damn!" He spat out, but the life of his friend was more important now it seemed. Shinichi grit his teeth, and glanced at the warehouse acrossed the street. He would go there and look for clues...

"Ah?" Shinichi blinked when his badge started to beep a little loudly. Everyone in front of him jerked, and turned to glare at him as he turned around, "Hello?"

"Ah...Conan-niichan." A slight hesitation came with his alias, but Shinichi felt his eyes widen all the same, "Um..."

"Iggy-kun!" Shinichi snapped, alerting everyone to them, "Where are you right now? We're here to..."

"That's...erm, see we're actually in the vents right now. Ehehehe." A nervous laugh, but Shinichi felt a wave of relief. He blinked in confusion though, who was he talking about then? "That is to say...Shiho-san and I are in the vents right now. It seems she kinda beat you to the punch..."

_Oi, oi..._Shinichi thought, wondering when Shiho had been informed of all of this. _That means..._Shinichi cut a quick glance at the other warehouse, his heart pounding. The chance for a lead...it was so close that he could almost taste it. Sure, Gin was gone now, but maybe this time they left something behind..."Alright, so Fang and Hattori will be waiting out here for you guys. They're behind the building right now."

"Wait, what about you?" Iggy said, sounding confused but Shinichi had shoved the small badge in his pocket without replying. He couldn't risk Haibara overhearing that They had been nearby.

"They're almost out now, it seems we won't have to worry about traps or anythings. Haibara got there before we did, probably because we wasted all that time with you guys." Shinichi said, glancing over at the Flock. "So just wait here for them to get out. Iggy-kun sounded out of it, he'll probably need to go to the hospital or something."

"Oi! Ku-Conan-kun where are ya goin'!" Hattori exclaimed as Shinichi spun around to go to the building.

"Wait!" Angel yelled, grabbing Shinichi by the arm and catching him off guard. "Don't go in there, there's-"

She was cut off as the entire building Shinichi had been running for exploded. People screamed in alarm, and Shinichi was thrown back into Angel by the blast. Both of them ended up on the ground a good three meters from where they had been before. Smoke was rising from the building in a massive plume.

"Damn!" Shinichi swore, fury and frustration sweeping through him. "Not again!"

Everytime he got close to finding something out about Them something got in his way! He hated this, hated how taintalizingly close They always were. Almost as if they were taunting him. That was the reason they didn't bother to hide the damn gunshot. No evidence would be left behind from an explosion, they probably wouldn't even have dental records to identify whoever had been killed.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" I asked, and felt the trembling through the ventilation. "Erm, no, wait, can you feel that Shiho-san?"

"A bomb." Shiho murmured. I felt her tense, since we were in such a small space it was pretty easy to tell. My head was a lot clearer now too, though it still hurt badly and I kept having waves where I felt on the verge of passing out. "Probably next door or something..."

She sounded scared for a moment, so I touched her hand for a little dose of encouragement. She pulled it away after about a heartbeat, and we continued to crawl through the ventilation.

It was slow going, to say the least. It was hard to keep moving because of how little purchase there was. Now you might just be thinking we could easily just crawl through it, but you have to keep in mind that we were escaping from somewhere. In other words, we had to move through these shafts while trying our very best to be quiet.

Shiho held her arm out in front of me to make me stop. I tensed, listening with my head tipped to one side. I could hear footsteps, and nearly jumped out of my skin when a startlingly loud voice said, "There was an explosion next door! Acrossed the street!"

"Kami!" Another voice, "At least it's raining...you don't think the fire will get over here do you?"

"No." Came the nervous reply, "But there's a rumor going around that the bomb...m-might have been a bit of a warning to us. You don't think the police would blow up a building just because we kidnapped a little kid do you?"

"Baka! Don't be stupid! If anyone meant that bomb to be for us because we kidnapped somebody why would they risk blowing the hostage up as well!" I heard a disgusted snort, but then a pause. "Unless it was meant for the building next door...as a means of distracting us from the kid!"

"Shit!" Both exclaimed, and I could have very well joined in on that. Shiho tugged at my hand and we were trying to move as quickly as possible away from the vents. I didn't have to be near the mouth of the vent to hear them start yelling after they figured out that I was in fact gone.

"I'm guessing that the bomb wasn't part of your plan, Shiho-san." I grimaced, "Erasers usually aren't too bright but..."

"They'll probably be smart enough to figure out that there was no way for you to have just walked out the door. They'll find the vent without the cover and put two and two together." Shiho paused, and sighed, "I wasn't counting on them figuring it out so quickly. Shh..."

We stopped, hearts pounding as we listened to shouts. Cautiously Shiho peered around a corner, and jerked back at the last second practically shoving me back in the same movement. "What?" I whispered, blinking.

"Shhh, they've got somebody waiting at the next opening with a gun." Shiho murmured, whispered it so close that her breath tickled my ear. She leaned against the wall of the vent and I heard her let out a small sigh, "We're stuck, Iggy-kun."

I felt as if my heart stopped for the briefest of instances. Wasn't this all my fault, after all? If I hadn't let myself get caught in the first place Shiho wouldn't have had to come and attempt to rescue me. I groaned, leaning my forehead against my knees. What were we going to do now? Call Shinichi?

The sound of a drill whined, making us both jump. It stopped after a few minutes, and I could hear voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying very well. Pressing a finger against my lips I leaned my ear against the cool metal of the shaft. I remained very still for a moment and then the words that they were saying became clear.

"Is it alright if we kill them?" Came the nervous question, "Isn't that kid, I dunno, bait or something important like that?"

"We can be sure that the Ride girl isn't in there." Goichi's growling voice made me tense automatically, "She's gotten the message, the boy is of no use if she doesn't come for it. It doesn't matter if he's dead or not, because we only needed to send one picture. We need to get out of this place anyways, have you got everything set up?"

"Yeah but...if the police find out..." Nervous shifting, somebody coughed.

"What can they do against the likes of us?" Goichi's growl changed into scoffing laughter. "It'll only teach that girl a lesson anyways. This is what she gets for not coming on a rescue mission herself. Get out, you two are the only ones left."

I waited, nervous as the sound of footsteps retreated. "That's strange..." I murmured, why would they have to leave. "Shiho-san, look around the corner, is anyone there anymore?"

She moved forward, and returned, "No..." She sounded slightly confused. "Iggy-kun, what were they saying?"

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about it." I replied, and that's when I smelled it. I coughed, clapping a hand over my nose I widened my eyes. "Smoke? Smoke! They're going to set the building on fire!"

"It'd be less suspicious because of the explosion next door..." Shiho murmured. My stomach lurched as she grabbed my hand and yanked me forward. I heard a soft hiss issue from her mouth and she kicked out at the covering on the vent. Of course, the drill. They'd made it impossible for us to get out of the vents.

We were going to be burned alive.

**

* * *

**

"They're all runnin' out." Heiji murmured, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Helicopters, doors, these guys didn't know the meaning of the word subtle very well. It was a scrambling moment of panic for a moment before the area they were in was eerily quiet. The whines of sirens could already be heard in the distance, people had cleared this area because of the explosion behind them.

Maybe those people left because of that, but Heiji doubted that for some reason. It wasn't long before they could see the flickering of orange flames behind the windows in the buildings.

"No!" Fang hissed, jerking up into a standing position. Kudou was just standing there with his eyes stretched wide behind his glasses. Fang ran for the building but Max caught him by the shoulder, "Let go Max!"

"You can't just run up there, it might be a trap!" Max returned back, looking irritated. Heiji had a feeling that if she knew who exactly they were trying to save she would have been running in there ahead of Fang.

"Iggy!" Kudou yelled into his badge, "There's a fire!"

"Yeah, kinda noticed that..." Came the coughing reply. "They've drilled all the openings shut in the vents too. We're kind of stuck right now..."

"Damn it!" Kudou swore, looking as if he were about to crush the small walky-talky device in his hand. Heiji winced and looked towards the burning building. If they had some plans or something, if they were able to figure out how to guide them to a certain place then maybe they could get them out. But they didn't have anything like that. "Iggy-kun, if you have any idea where you are at try to move away from the fire. We're going to come in and get you out somehow."

Kudou darted out of Dylan's grasp and ran for the burning building.

Heiji sighed, he wasn't the kind of guy that was going to let a friend burn alive either. He removed his cap and pressed it against his face as he ran after Kudou. Fang followed after wrenching away from Max, and after a heartbeat and an order that told the rest of the kids to stay and wait for the police, she came with them as well.

* * *

"I think they just ran into a burning building to save us." I said, screwing my face up as I pocketed the badge. I might need that for later, in case we had to tell Shinichi to give up and just get out. "Come on, Shiho-san, let's move before it gets too hot over here alright?"

"How's your head?" Shiho asked as we continued to clamber away, the smoke was beginning to fill the vents. I coughed. This was probably the worst place to be in a fire, since it was up high the smoke would automatically rise into here. If we didn't burn up we were going to die of smoke inhalation.

"Better, I guess." I shrugged, "It's throbbing, but I don't think I have anything to worry about...besides becoming fried chicken that is."

I coughed, was it just me or was the smoke getting worse. I felt a hand on my shoulder that told me to stop, "It's getting thicker, the smoke." She murmured, "And it's just as thick behind us. I think they started two fires."

I felt my shoulders sag. Oh, right. So what was that I said earlier about Erasers not being smart? I guess I got one-upped by them. The metal of the shaft wasn't warm yet, not where we were, but I had a feeling that it was only a matter of time. If my head wasn't already throbbing I would have started bashing it in on the side of the shaft.

"Suffocation is one of the most peaceful ways to die, I've heard." Shiho murmured, and for once I don't think she was trying to be morbid. I almost think she was trying to cheer me up, in her own way. "A bit like falling asleep."

"Listen, let's find the next opening and hang out near there. We'll leave our faces as close to the bottom of the vent as possible. We can get out of here Shiho-san, we've just got to trust Shinichi-kun." I grabbed her hand and tugged her after me. I managed to clamber so that I was leaning against the grate covering the opening.

I spread out so that I was lying on my stomach, and Shiho did the same. We were both crammed together, in this small space. The air wasn't much better there, and I was starting to get a headache along with that incredibly irritating cough.

"I never thought this would be the way..." Shiho breathed a sigh and I could almost hear something like laughter in her voice. "Fate has a funny way of turning things around on you, ne Iggy-kun?"

"Just...Iggy." I said, glancing away.

"Eh?"

"This is, what, the third time you've done something that can basically be considered saving my skin? Granted the time I twisted my ankle WAS technically your fault, since you fell off the cliff like that." I wrinkled my nose. "Still, I'd say that since you're my hero you deserve to just call me by my name."

"I haven't done anything heroic." Came the coughed reply.

"No?" I grimaced, "You're in a burning building because you crawled through vents to save me when I got myself kidnapped. That's pretty heroic. You helped me when I ran into that murderer in the woods. And if it wasn't for you giving me a piggy-back ride I would have eventually starved to death getting lost in those mountains."

"You can fly." She pointed out, I waved it off.

"Fine then, you let me use your name instead of your family name." I said, "That's just another reason. Since I technically don't have a last name the best I can give you to let you be even is have you drop the formality, ne?"

"All valid points...Iggy." She murmured.

"See, not so hard. Loosening up can't be that bad of a thing, ne?" I grinned in her direction, and turned away when I had to cough. Not attractive, coughing in somebody's face. Even if you're in a very smokey vent.

"Why is it that you make things so hard?" She asked me, out of the blue. I turned my head in her direction again. People tend to respond better when you're facing them, ever notice that? I mean, I could hardly care less since I can't see but still...

"Eh?" I asked, squirming a bit to cover my cough in my hand. "I make things hard? What are you talking about?"

"Did you know I've never had a boyfriend?" The question caught me off guard a bit, and I found myself blinking. "At least...not one that I could ever consider I real boyfriend. Not somebody who I really fell in love with, or vice versa for that matter. I'm not the kind of girl that let's people into her heart."

"I couldn't tell." I said, but I kept the sarcasm light. An attempt to cheer her up rather than burn her really, "It doesn't bother me, it's just the way you are."

She laughed at me, but I realized that I really meant those words when I said them. Yeah, she was a bit odd but I'd come to the realization that it was kind of a part of her. It actually made those small acts of kindness that she did seem even more important somehow.

"I don't fall in love. I made that promise to myself a long time ago. Maybe it was working for the Organization...I taught myself never to show emotion, and when you do that you get to the point that you hardly feel it." Shiho whispered, and coughed. "I guess you could say the only person I ever even cared about was Onee-san..."

Pain, I never expected to hear so much raw emotion in her voice.

"I left because they killed her...did Kudou-kun tell you that?" Shiho said, sadness in her voice. It made my heart hurt a little, to hear that tone in her voice. I had the strangest urge to reach out and hold her. "It only convinced me further. I couldn't let people in. But I failed, and how could I help that?"

"It's not a bad thing, Shiho-san, to care about others." I coughed. I was beginning to feel dizzy. Sleepy almost actually, but I was forcing myself to pay attention to her. She deserved it, didn't she? "Your Onee-san would have liked it that way, wouldn't she?"

"She would have." She laughed, "She was always telling me to leave that Organization and find a man."

"A man?" I blinked in confusion, "Oh, well I thought you were talking about the Detective Boys."

Shiho chuckled, "Yes, I love them too I guess, and Kudou-kun in his own way. And Hakase. I still keep them distant though, for my own sake as much as their's. But then I'm a bit of a baka. Sometimes I can't tell myself how to feel, no matter how hard I try. It doesn't help...that you make it so hard."

"Heh?" I coughed, "Wait, when did we get on the subject of me?"

I'm sorry, I was genuinely confused.

She didn't answer me, and I didn't think she was going to. So I was kind of forced to put it all together myself. She let somebody in? There was a man? The smoke was making it really hard to think, it couldn't be...that thing. I coughed, "Shiho-san...what do I make so hard?"

"I shouldn't have fallen in love." She murmured, and her lips brushed against mine. I wanted to react, and I won't lie I'm not sure how I would have reacted if I could. I don't know if I would have pushed her away, or if I would have kissed back. Instead I found my eyes slowly closing. "Iggy."

**

* * *

**

Shinichi coughed, the smoke was incredibly thick in here. He ran through the building, eyes scanning the openings to any vents he could find. The shrunken teen almost missed the two huddled forms. "Haibara! Iggy!" Shinichi yelled as Fang attempted to wrench the covering off.

"This one!" Hattori ordered, lifting Shinichi up a heartbeat after he turned the dial on his super kick shoes. Careful not to kick Hattori in the head he slammed his foot into the grate. It exploded inward with a screeching sound, and Hattori shoved Shinichi into the small space.

The shrunken teen coughed, covering his mouth with his sleeve as he crawled back to where he had first seen Haibara and Iggy. He grabbed them by the collars of their shirts and dragged them back. Shinichi grit his teeth under the strain, the toes in his foot were throbbing from having kicked the grate and he was beginning to feel light headed from the smoke.

He practically tumbled out of the grate, caught at the last second by Hattori. Shinichi started to cough, and found that it was incredibly hard to stop. Fang was grabbing Iggy while Max was lifting Haibara gently out of the grate. They were both covered in so much soot that their hair looked dark.

"Window..." Shinichi coughed, pointing over his shoulder the way they had come. The group followed without a word, and Shinichi managed to kick a flaming piece of rubble through the window to shatter the glass. Fang and Max both flew outside, and Hattori jumped out with Shinichi on his back.

The police pulled up just as Fang and Max landed. Two paramedics scrambled for the kids, and Shinichi attempted to wave them away from himself in vain. The building behind them roared with flames, and the rain poured down from the sky.

**

* * *

**

_**The part where Ai was talking about how she never fell in love the song **__**The Only Exception **__**by Paramore came on!**_

_**I was like! HEEEY! It fits! **_

_**Lawl, no the building was never supposed to catch on fire at first...**_

_**But I did it because I thought it would make things a little more dramatic. Plus it set up that rather cute confession scene for Shiho! **_

_**Reviews are nice :3**_


	23. Hospital Scenes

_Disclaimer:_

_Only the plot :3_

_**I've seen all the DC movies, except the fourteenth now :3**_

_**I'm just that much more excited for it's coming! -squeals-**_

_**Kaito though...and Ran...-facepalms-**_

_**Well, I won't misread anything until I watch it. -grins-**_

_**Speaking of Kaito...he'll be in this chapter! Yay! :3**_

_**Enjoy.**_

_**There was this weird dot thing right over there, to the left of the first there in this sentence. It was weird...O.o**_

_**Elena Forest- Okay, lawl, I have to tell you this. I totally didn't get your joke until I read it to my sister, who doesn't even watch DC, and she started laughing. I was like, "What? I don't get it..." and she looked at me like I was stupid and she said, "Well...I thought that you said that wherever that Shinichi guy goes people die." And I was like, "OH! LAWL!" X3**_

_**Em Phantom- Daww, tankies. You make me feel so good about myself. I hope this chapter is okay...It's not as great as the Fang chapter in my own opinion, but I still like it. :3**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- Okay, your review made me laugh so hard. X3 My mom had to come over and read what it said, of course she didn't understand since she doesn't know what I write. I thought it was funny how you reacted to each of the things though, don't ask me why. Movie Six worked out for him, I think, because it was kinda like his ordinary life. X3 That's my favorite movie, apart from Captured in Her Eyes. :3 Long reviews make me happy. **_

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**_

_Chapter Twenty-three- Hospital Scenes_

When I woke up I was aware of the fact that there was something annoying and a little bit beepy near my head somewhere. I groaned, rubbing at my temple only to find that my head was wrapped in guaze. I heard the scraping of something against linoleum, and then I was aware of the fact that my personal space was being squished.

"He's alive!" Genta's voice was the first that I noticed, since the words were practically screamed right in my ear. "Agasa-hakase said that you had to get stitches, can we see em?"

"Genta-kun give Iggy-kun some space. Haibara-san specifically told us not to crowd him, remember?" Mitsuhiko chastised a little more calmly. "I brought some cookies, Iggy-kun. They're oatmeal raisin...and not very tasty because I burned them a bit...but I made them just for you. So that you could get better faster and be able to come to school!"

"You've been asleep for HOURS." Genta exclaimed, "And Kaa-san says that I'M lazy..."

"You're alright, aren't you Iggy-kun?" Ayumi asked, her voice sounding small and almost tearful. I was feeling a little bit dizzy bombarded by all of the kids like this.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine." I replied, and winced a little at the resounding cheers from all of those kids. They must have come to visit me, and though he hadn't said anything I could tell that Shinichi was in the room as well. "Why is Conan-niichan so quiet?"

"He fell asleep." Ayumi giggled, "He didn't go home or to school either, he and Haibara-san stayed with you. They thought that you were in real big trouble...Agasa-hakase had to request a special doctor. Araide-sensei is supposed to keep secrets for you."

"Oh?" I said, blinking. Whoever Araide was, he must have been someone they trusted. "What did I miss in school?"

I only half listened to the kids as they told me about what I'd missed in school that day. I hadn't been awake since that moment in the vents, that meant I was unconscious for at least twenty-four hours. I could deduce that Shiho was in better shape than I was, since she was awake enough to scold the children. She wasn't here now, and I didn't want to randomly ask where or I wouldn't hear the end of it.

I had so many questions though. I was half-hoping I could figure out some way to get them out of the room so I could speak with Shinichi privately. Of course, my luck being the way it is, I got basically the exact opposite of that. The door slid open and I got the distinct scent of flowers.

"Iggy-kun, you're up." Ran said, coming closer. I could sense her relief. Guess I was kinda scaring everybody. "Hattori-kun told me about the kitten. That was a very dangerous thing for you and Ai-chan to do you know that?"

I was lost now.

"And they didn't even manage to save the poor kitty..." Ayumi said sadly. I blinked, trying not to look as confused as I felt. How hard had I hit my head again? Or...wait, it would make sense to assume that they had come up with some plan to cover up what actually happened.

You couldn't exactly tell Ran I was kidnapped by the secret group that created me after all.

"If Hattori-kun hadn't gone in there after you two then you could have died." Ran said, sounding a little on the verge of anger. I felt her relax though as she grabbed my hand. "But you're both safe and alright now. Thank goodness..."

"Ran-neechan, when did you get here?" Shinichi said sleepily. Funny thing was, even though he sounded really young at that moment I really don't think he was trying to act cute at that moment. I heard him squeak in surprise, "Eh? When did I fall asleep!"

"You started snoring almost two minutes after we entered the room." Genta commented dryly.

"That brat with the glasses could actually be cute if he was sleeping like that all the time, ne?" Sonoko commented, alerting me to her prescence. I was aware of the fact that two other's were in the room. I wondered who they were, and was answered almost immediately by some knuckles getting rapped against my head.

"Heiji!" Kazuha exclaimed as I grabbed my head and glowered furiously in the direction of the Osakan detective. Really, you'd think having a head injury would make him, I dunno, NOT hit me on the head.

"Look, good as new." Hattori replied, patting my shoulder. Leaning a bit closer he whispered, "How many does that make it now? You owe me...what, three, or was it four? I forget..."

"Heh, if you can't keep track of it don't expect me to pay up." I replied cheekily. I leaned a little closer to the detective and added in a hushed whisper, "Do you have any idea where Fang is?"

"That guy?" Kazuha asked, startling me a little. I hadn't realized she was close enough to overhear what I was saying. Then again, we were in a pretty small hospital room. Or I'm assuming as much, since it was beginning to feel a bit crowded with all the people inside. "He just up and left without hardly saying goodbye."

"He didn't even pay for the ticket that he basically wasted." Hattori commented, sounding a little grumpy. I sighed inwardly, somehow I wasn't all that surprised. He probably left as soon as he could get away from me, and Max. I was about to ask another question when Hattori answered it with his next statement, "He seemed like he wanted to avoid that group that's been hanging around lately..."

"Have they been in here at all?" I asked, feeling my stomach lurch. If Max saw me it was going to be all over, the fact she hadn't figured anything out during the rescue was probably a surprise.

"Kudou's keeping damage control." Hattori whispered, "But they'll probably be here to see you later today. They've become friends with Kazuha and that woman of Kudou's..."

"Oi, oi...you do realize that if she overhears you referring to her in that way she'll not only kick your ass, but probably poor Shinichi's as well?" I said dryly. Hattori's reply was to merely snicker as he backed off. I realized, a little belatedly, who was missing from the crowded room. (Apart from Shiho that is) "Ah-le? Ran-neechan where's Oji-san?"

"Tou-san was actually a bit busy with a client." Ran replied, sounding apologetic. "He is worried about you, Iggy-kun. He's just not very good at showing it..."

"N-no, that's not what I meant..." I rubbed the back of my head nervously. Suddenly, as if to bring attention to not only me but the entire universe, my stomach growled very loudly. I felt my cheeks flush, and heard everyone burst into laughter.

"He's louder than Genta-kun!" Mitsuhiko said, laughing so hard that the words came out as a gasp.

"Oi!" Genta said, sounding slightly offended. It was lost in the wave of laughter to folow after that though, and I couldn't help but join in with the group. I laughed so hard that I had to lean against the pillows again because my head was starting to spin a little, and my sides ached.

For the first time in hours I was completely and totally relaxed.

* * *

"I think they're letting in all visitors today." Dylan said as he and Max finished putting things in their lockers. On account of the fact that Aoko and Kaito had a mop fight the entire class had been forced to stay behind late to clean up. Mostly because some art supplies got caught in the crossfire. Now they could go to the hospital and make sure the little boy they'd helped out the other day was doing okay.

"Good idea." Max commented, narrowing her brown eyes as she pulled her shoes from their place. "Something is up about this, and I'm sure that...Iggy-kun has all the answers for us."

Dylan tipped his head to one side. The way she said the little boy's name made him think she was suspicious because of that. "You think something weird is going on?"

"What are the chances of two bird-kids being called Iggy?" Max asked.

"It is an unusual name..." Dylan admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But what do you think happened? That Iggy somehow shrank down to the size of a little kid? That seems a bit unrealistic."

"Two percent bird." Max replied, as if this blocked off any and all doubt. Though one couldn't argue much with that logic if they were to really think about it. Dylan shrugged his shoulders. "It wouldn't be completely impossible I'm sure...though why would Iggy avoid us if it really was him? Maybe they cloned him or something..."

"Are you talking about some sci-fi movie or something, Max-chan?" Kaito surprised them both by popping out of seemingly nowhere. Dylan narrowed his eyes, he'd been unaware of the fact that he could speak English. It was obvious he had understood at least some of what they were saying.

"Um...well..." Dylan shrugged his shoulders.

"You said something about going to a hospital right?" Kaito said, switching back to his own language. "A friend of yours get hurt or something like that?"

"Well...it's not quite like that." Dylan answered. Max just walked away looking slightly frustrated. Dylan hesitated, knowing that he'd be able to catch up with her in a few moments anyways. "It's a little hard to explain, Kaito-kun. We got involved in a bit of a rescue mission the other day."

"Oh, so you're heroes?" Aoko said, closing her locker. "You'd think they would have put something in the newspapers about it or something like that, ne?"

"It's not as interesting as Kid." Kaito said, something like a mischevious grin flitting acrossed his features. Aoko glared at him, and Dylan's peer shoved his hands in his pockets as he added, "Well, how about we tag along with them Aoko? Since you're going to visit some kid that you guys don't really know two more strangers shouldn't be that weird."

"Um..." Dylan blinked, "I guess that'd be alright but...well, I'm sorry, why do you want to go?"

"I'm bored." Kaito replied, grinning. "C'mon then, let's go!"

"Kaito! Gaaah!" Aoko's face flushed red when Kaito mischeviously flipped her skirt. Dylan forced himself to look in the other direction, hoping that the blush on his own face wouldn't be too obvious. He hoped that Max wouldn't be angry since these two were so bent on tagging along...

_**

* * *

**_

"Check-mate." Shinichi said, and I heard Hattori's head slam into the nightstand for about the millionth time. The two had been at chess ever since Ran and the other's left to escort the kids someplace they had been, according to Genta, DYING to go. "That's five to zero, Hattori."

"Chess is boring anyways." Hattori replied as if the game were at fault for the fact that he couldn't seem to beat Shinichi no matter how hard he tried. I snorted with laughter and could practically feel him glaring when he flatly replied, "Oi, oi. Don't even. You wouldn't even TRY to play Iggy-kun."

"Yeah, because I'm not going to try to bite off more than I can chew. It figures that Shinichi-kun can play chess well. I mean, really, the guy can do practically anything." I grinned mischeviously, "Except maybe play video games and carry a tune in a bucket..."

"Oi, oi." Shinichi replied, sounding slightly irritated.

"Trust me, Hattori-kun, you've never heard anything worse until you stand next to him in choir class." I said. Hattori snickered as Shinichi grumbled something about not everyone being perfect or something like that. I paused, I could hear footsteps and somebody talking in the hall. "Oi..."

Slowly, and carefully, I slid so that I was under the covers. Yeah, I know, but I couldn't think of anything better to do. The next thing I knew the door was being opened and Hattori was saying, "Oh, it's you guys..."

"Hello." Dylan said, sounding apologetic. "We just wanted to see how Iggy-kun was doing."

"He's gone to sleep now!" Shinichi said, sounding young and cheerful. "But he was awake and talking to everybody earlier. Araide-sensei says that he'll be just fine...ah-le? Who are those two?"

Ha! Great thing about being blind, learning about other people doesn't change at all, even if you've got your head shoved under your blankets! One thing I do know is that the guy must have looked an awful lot like Shinichi did when he was normal, because Hattori was having a small-scale freak-out in his seat.

"K-K-Kudou..." Hattori squeaked, and then laughed nervously. I would have bet both of my wings on the fact that Shinichi was giving him a look that said something about not being stupid for once in his life. "Sorry, ya look a lot like somebody I know."

"Oh?" came the reply that sounded vaguely amused. "Kuroba Kaito, at your service. I'm but a humble magician who decided to tag along with my classmates to make sure that this little boy was doing alright."

"Magician?" Shinichi said, slowly, as if something about the word reminded him of something he couldn't quite place. I heard a small puff, and then Shinichi yelped in surprise. "O-oh! Cool, Kaito-niichan that was really neat!"

"And I'm Nakamori Aoko." A girl said, I heard Kaito yelp as something collided with his head as she added, "This magic otaku didn't seem to understand how strange it would be to come to visit somebody in the hospital he didn't even know."

"Sheesh Aoko, did you have to hit me so hard? That huuuurt..." Kaito said, and I almost snorted with laughter. Then I remembered that I was currently trying to hide. Right, mustn't forget merely because the people around me are entertaining. I heard the scraping of a chair near my head and tried not to stiffen.

"Why is he sleeping like that?" Max asked, in english of course. Dylan hurriedly repeated the question, sounding slightly embarassed because there was no disguising the suspicion in her tone. Crap.

"Aoko! Let's go get something to drink!" Kaito said suddenly, and I heard the door open and slam quickly. Inwardly I wanted him to come back, really badly. Because technically Max couldn't do a thing to confront me with some classmate of her's here...wait a minute...classmate?

That meant she was going to school...how was THAT working out I wondered?

"He always sleeps like that." Shinichi said, not missing a beat. "It's just one of the funny little things he does all the time..."

"How did you meet Fang?" Dylan asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"He's Heiji-niichan's friend, ne, Heiji-niichan?" Shinichi said cheerfully, I could practically hear the sugar in his words as he spoke. The door opened behind them and I heard Shinichi let out a quick yelp of surprise. Somehow I knew about two seconds before she said anything who it was.

"He's not asleep." Angel said in a deadpan. Shit, hadn't exactly thought of that. Kudos me, forgetting that there happened to be a mindreader among the group. Seriously Iggy, how much worse can you freakin get? Still, I managed to keep my head clear if that counted for much.

"Small room." Gazzy commented as he followed after her. I heard the clicking of Total's nails on the ground, and Nudge must have shut the door behind him. Welcome people to the Iggy gets cornered show!

"Make them leave." I finally said, "I don't want to see anybody."

Not a lie, and therefore Angel wouldn't have been able to notice anything wrong. (Hopefully) I also think that was the best I ever did at sounding like a small child, probably because I was so close to panic my voice was trembling a little bit. Silence filled the room and my heart hurt a little.

I wanted, so badly, to just tell them everything.

But I was afraid. Afraid that it would only hurt them in the end.

"You won't take my little brother away, just because he can fly will you?" Shinichi said sharply, "If he's afraid of you then you should leave. He doesn't have to talk-, O-oi!"

I stiffened as somebody put their hand on my shoulder. I knew who it was instantly, and I was surprised by how much pain it caused me not to move. "Don't worry little boy. We'd never take you away from your family. We aren't like that...if anything we would just try to figure out a way to keep you safe." Nudge said, gently, soothing.

I shut my eyes, "Leave me alone..." I growled. Nudge removed her hand, and she must have stepped back because I didn't feel like my personal space was being invaded any longer. An awkward silence descended on the people in the room. Would they leave? Or stay? It was so hard...keeping my mind clear.

Speaking of which...what about Shinichi and Hattori?

Something jumped on my bed, and I tensed up immediately. Total. Gah! Dogs have sharper senses than people! Chances were...he would be able to sniff me out. I winced as he padded up to my head, snuffling softly until he pulled the blanket down and I heaved a tired sigh.

"Iggy." Total said his tone scrutinizing, "How in the WORLD did you get so small?"

"Wha?" Was the response around the room, except for Max and Dylan I noticed. Even Angel seemed a bit surprised, which means that I totally rock at keeping my head clear. I would celebrate except for, well you know, I just got found out. Lucky lucky me. You know how I said that the last silence was awkward?

This one was worse.

"No...that's not true. It's impossible right? It...it's just some wild coincidence." Gazzy said, breaking the silence with his nervous voice. Disbelief, and a little bit of hurt was radiating through the room. If I was really Iggy, then I didn't want them here. Hadn't I said so myself earlier?

"No, it's true." I replied, and heaved a sigh. "This is the last thing I should be dealing with right now..."

"So, you basically knew we were around here, didn't you? You knew even before we ran into these idiots the other day." Max growled. I winced, of course she was mad. Mad and hurt. "So tell me, Iggy, why is it that you thought you had to avoid us! Are you embarassed? Because that's REALLY stupid..."

"It's not just that!" Shinichi interrupted her in English, and switched quickly back to Japanese. Since Max seemed to be the only person in the room who had a truly hard time with it I understood his reasoning about using his native language. "Iggy-kun didn't come to you or tell you about what had happened because he was advised against it. By me."

_And Shiho..._I added silently. Mostly Shiho, but it made sense.

"When I went to look for Fang I...kinda stumbled into something bad." I said with a nervous chuckle. Still, thinking of that night...of the woman I couldn't save. It made me shudder, involuntarily. "I became something of a witness, I suppose. So basically I ended up getting fed some poison. Instead of killing me, it made me...tinier than usual."

"Iggy-kun wanted to tell you." Shinichi said quickly, "But...for my sake as well as yours he kept it secret. We told him that if his friends knew he was alive they might stay around him...which would mean the people who wanted to kill him at first would have to get through you to go to him."

"That's a given. We don't leave family behind." Max said after Dylan had quickly translated for her. "So these people...something tells me they aren't your average group of murderers."

"No. They're a large syndicate." Hattori said, "Kudou and Iggy-kun weren't the only two to be affected by them. They tend to blackmail people, and also hardly ever leave any evidence behind. They're dangerous, and if they figure out that Kudou and Iggy-kun are both alive then they WILL try to kill them."

"Hattori..." Shinichi murmured, I was surprised to. It was hard to remember that Hattori knew how dangerous things could really get. I was also a bit surprised because...well, the reason he said that was to stand up for me. He and Shinichi both were trying to make sure I didn't get into trouble.

"I suppose that means taking Iggy away from here wouldn't be a good idea." Gazzy said, startling me a little bit. "Well, if we were to just continue doing our regular stuff...you know, if we were to go around places with Iggy...not only would we have to worry about the School all the time, but we'd have to make sure that Iggy didn't get seen on television."

"Because somebody might have recognized him!" Nudge said, "He wasn't exactly unknown, and if these creepy dudes are really as bad as you make them out to be I bet they're smart enough to figure out where Iggy is all the time. Hey, maybe we could hack them or something like that! I bet I'd be able to do it! If there is anything computer related to them, anything at all, I bet I could break through and get you some vital information. A group that big is bound to use computers, what with the new technology wave. Speaking of which, almost everyone's got a computer now, right? I mean WE'VE got a computer and we usually don't have a roof over our heads. Except for recently, I guess, we've been kinda staying in places you could consider homes more and more often lately-"

"Hack?" Shinichi said, interrupting Nudge before she could talk his ears off. To my shock, and slight horror, he sounded interested. "Do you think you'd be able to do that? But how..."

"Computers sorta talk to me." Nudge said, "I could-"

"No." I said flatly. "Out of the question. They could track your signal if you hack them. They could FIND you, and if they think that you got any information on them, any at all, they'll kill you. All of you. I doubt they give a flying rat's ass about Max and her destiny. These people just want to stay hidden."

"That's true..." Shinichi said softly, as though belatedly realizing how rash he was being. Something I was beginning to learn about Shinichi was the fact that when They were involved he tended to loose a bit of his sense. He was the kind of person that thought as long as you had enough evidence on somebody they'd be brought to justice.

I wasn't so sure this would work with these guys.

"So, you thought we wouldn't be able to handle this? Iggy, really, who do you think we are?" Max asked, sounding as sure of herself as she usually is. I sighed inwardly, it was because of who they are that I didn't want them to know. "What about...erm, you know...being stuck like that."

"I guess you're more like a little brother now." Gazzy added, "I think you're even smaller than Angel now!"

"Oi, oi..." I said, scowling furiously. "At the moment someone we know is working on an antidote."

"It's that Haibara girl, ne? The one that's close to you two?" Angel asked, startling me a little. Of course she would have run into Shinichi at school, it only made sense that she'd be able to figure out that Shiho was a close friend of ours. I coughed into my hand, an attempt to cover the blush that suddenly dusted my cheeks. It seemed to go unnoticed by everyone but Hattori, who snickered at me.

"Yeah." Shinichi said, "She used to be a scientist working for them, until they killed her sister. Because of that she rebelled against them, and they held her prisoner. In an attempt to commit suicide she took the poison she created, the same poison They gave Iggy and I."

"Wait, just one second now." Gazzy choked, "You're actually working WITH the person who created the deadly stuff that was supposed to have you two...erm..."

"Pushing up daisies?" I offered feeling a strange sense of protection towards Shiho. "She's trustworthy, believe me. The girl's saved me several times, including recently..."

"She was the one in the vents with you?" Max said, sounding surprised after Dylan quickly relayed my information. The guy should seriously consider becoming a translator or something like that, he was doing a top-notch job at keeping the leader of our group updated with what was going on.

This time when I blushed furiously it wasn't just Hattori who noticed.

"Ne, what exactly happened when you two were all alone?" Shinichi asked, mischief clear in his tone. I blushed even further, and attempted to cover it up by having a sudden random coughing fit. Hattori was openly laughing in the corner, not even trying to hide it. I flung him a look of irritation and he at least TRIED to cover it.

"Ig-gy has a girl-friiiiend." Gazzy teased, I scowled in frustration. Nice, we start talking about the people after our lives and they still somehow find time to give me trouble. I can't possibly win.

* * *

Kaito leaned against the door outside of the hospital room, tapping the top of his can of soda thoughtfully. He suddenly started to toss the can back and forth between his hands. His face was thoughtful, he could allow himself to be now, since nobody was really around to use a poker-face on. It was interesting that the people who had helped him would be involved in this.

After they had helped him, Kaito had looked up some interesting information. On a group of people rumored to have the ability to fly called the Flock. Well, in a world where legendary stones existed Kaito wouldn't exactly be too surprised over that. Not to mention the fact that Tantei-kun happened to be the shrunken Kudou Shinichi.

Kaito didn't have to try very hard to eavesdrop. He was a thief after all. As such, the teen had an extraordinary sense of hearing, even his sense of smell was a bit above that of an average person. It always helped to be alert to everything that was around him, imperative if one had a night job such as his.

The way it sounded...Kaito's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. It sounded almost as if Tantei-kun was actually involved with the same people that had killed Kaito's father. A smirk crossed his features. _Huh, I suppose it is a rather small world..._

Still, the potential of having the famous detective as an ally actually, though he'd never admit it, made Kaito feel a bit better. If there was anybody he ever had to have help in the fight against Them it would be the detective prodigy that clashed with him. Tantei-kun would be a nice trumpcard to have in his back pocket if things came to that.

"Kaito!" Aoko's voice snapped him from his thoughts rather violently. He ended up accidentally popping the top to the soda he had been tossing around, and was sprayed in the face. Aoko's eyes lit up with sudden laughter that she tried to hide, "Baka..."

The rest of her sentence was broken by her laughter. "Oi, oi! Don't laugh, I wouldn't have done that if your scary face hadn't come out of nowhere!" Kaito said, grinning in her direction. Aoko's laughter ceased and she glared at him a little angrily. "It's about time you showed up here, I've been waiting for you!"

"You disappeared!" Aoko snapped, sounding furious again. "How was I supposed to figure out where the heck you went after you just poofed away in the middle of the hall! Sheesh..."

"Ah-le? Is that Shinichi-kun?" A surprised voice made Kaito look up. His inward surprise didn't reflect on his mask of irritation, worn because Aoko was still going on about his vanishing act. It was Suzuki Sonoko, along with Mouri Ran. Of course, that would make some sense since Tantei-kun was here. "Oh...ehehe, sorry. I guess not, but he looks a lot like him."

"He does." Ran said, sounding just as surprised as Sonoko. She was looking at him curiously, "You seem familiar to me in some way...but maybe that's because you look so much like Shinichi."

"So this guy looks like Kudou-kun?" Another girl said, Kaito tried to remember if he should have been recognizing her from somewhere or not. Nothing came to him.

"The guy in the room said that as well." Aoko said, "I'm Nakomori Aoko, and this is Kuroba Kaito, the baka magician."

"Oi..." Kaito said, ceasing in his low bow to give Aoko a slightly irritated look. "That was really uncalled for, a magician takes great pride in being introduced you know!"

"Nakomori? As in Nakomori-keibu?" Ran asked. Aoko nodded her head and Ran smiled, "So you're the daughter of the guy who always chases after Kid-sama? I'm Mouri Ran, it's nice to meet you."

"Hey, she kind of looks like Ran now that I think about it." Sonoko said, looking back and forth between the two with an expression of confusion on her face. She crossed her arms and glanced at Kaito, "Don't tell me that you two are childhood friends destined to be lovers as well?"

Kaito, Aoko, and Ran all blushed. Kaito blinked tried to deny anything, waving his hands in front of him. Aoko was practically screaming in his ear that she wouldn't have any such feelings for the air-headed magician. Ran was trying to say that it wasn't like that between her and Shinichi.

"It's kinda creepy." The other girl said, and Kaito laughed inwardly in his head, "How alike they are. Ran-chan and Nakomori-san I mean..."

"Well, I'm Suzuki Sonoko." Sonoko said.

"And I'm..." The other girl was cut off as the door slid open and Kaito was forced to jump aside as the Osakan detective was practically hurled from the room. "H-Heiji?"

"Kazuha!" Heiji said, blinking in surprise. He let out a nervous laugh and held his hands up, "Ah, nothin's wrong or anything like that. Don't worry...I was just...er..."

Kaito noticed, with some amusement, that Tantei-kun was picking up a book that had been near the top of Iggy-kun's bed. The boy wasn't under the covers anymore, and to be completely honest with you Kaito had never seen somebody look so irritated in all of his life. Whatever the Osakan had said, he hadn't appreciated it much.

"Ran-neechan! You met Kaito-niichan!" Tantei-kun said, and put his hands behind his head. "He's a magician! He made a piece of chocolate pop up, right in my hand!"

"Oh, did he?" Ran smiled, "It seems Conan-kun has taken to liking you."

"Really?" Kaito said, hiding any of his nervousness flawless and giving the shrunken detective his best smile. "That's good, I'm here to entertain. It's what I do, after all."

"Ran-oneesan!" Ayumi, one of the little kids that hung around with Tantei-kun made Kaito glance over his shoulder. The three kids who called themselves the Detective Boys rounded the corner. The one in the lead, the little girl with auburn hair, was carrying a plastic sack.

Kaito felt his face drain of color. Oh hell...

"What's the matter, Kaito-niichan?" Tantei-kun asked curiously, of course he didn't miss that. Still, Kaito was focused on the hellish creature that the three children had brought with them.

See folks, in case you didn't know, Kaito can deal with almost anything. Thousands of cops, people who are after his very life, hell the guy flew a plane with a certain shrunken detective once. He wasn't exactly easily phased, but there was just one thing that Kuroba Kaito was terrified of.

Kaito, almost involuntarily, found himself stepping behind Aoko and peering over her shoulder just so he could make sure the children didn't step closer with the evil beast they carried. They stopped, looking confused as they stared at the teenage boy who seemed to be completely terrified of them. It wasn't them he was afraid of, of course, it was the damned thing they had in that plastic sack.

"Uh...Kuroba-kun?" Sonoko said, sounding a little confused. The little girl stepped closer, curious about the boy hiding behind this girl she hadn't met probably, and Kaito recoiled. He let out a little hissing noise through his teeth for good measure.

"Don't mind him, he's afraid of fish." Aoko said, and Kaito had the distinct sensation that she was a little irritated with him. She looked at him in a way that said, 'it's just a goldfish...' and Kaito felt slightly offended. How could she not understand? Those things...those evil creatures...with their slimy scales and puckery lips...Tantei-kun let out something that might have been amused laughter. The Osakan openly snorted with laughter, and the little girl that could read his mind was holding her sides as she attempted not to laugh. Max burst into laughter, as if she couldn't hold it anymore. Dylan started teasing him, making creepy little fishy faces in his direction.

_Oh yes, all of you yuck it up. _Kaito thought with a scowl, _Just keep the damned thing away from me and I'm fine._

_**

* * *

**_

"We know that you can't look at him..." Ayumi said nervously as she handed me the sack. I couldn't help but notice that Kaito was staying as far away from us as possible now. Max was chuckling with amusement and Dylan was openly teasing him. So it must have been true that they were classmates.

"But it's the only thing we could get you. We WANTED to get you a puppy, but Ran-oneesan said that you couldn't have one." Genta said, and I could picture him giving Ran a sideways glance. I laughed.

"Thanks guys, I appreciate it." I said with a genuine smile.

"Maybe you should name it after Kuroba-oniisan." Mitsuhiko said, sounding ever so slightly mischevious. I chuckled, it was funny how we'd barely met the guy but he seemed to fit right in with this little group.

"You better not!" Kaito cried from the door, evidently too afraid to get any closer to us. If I was truly evil I would have tossed the goldfish at him, just to scare the poor magician. I'm just not an animal abuser, that poor goldfish didn't deserve to be thrown at him. Oh well.

"How about...Fishy-san?" Ayumi asked, sounding sweet.

"Alright, I think that's a wonderful name." I held up the sack with flourish, "Fishy-san."

"Evil little things..." Kaito hissed, and I heard Shinichi let out the same laugh he let's out whenever the Detective Boys say something that he doesn't quite know how to react to. "Right, so we came and saw the kid. Let's go home now, Aoko. Please."

"Wasn't it you who wanted to come so badly?" Aoko said, but I heard her retreat after the magician as he left the room.

"We should go too." Max said, "Iggy, don't get into any trouble. You got that? We'll be someplace nearby if you really need us...and don't leave us out of any loops, you got that? If I find out you're holding stuff back you'll be in a ton of trouble."

"And PLEASE come and cook us some supper soon!" Gazzy added, and I heard Max's teeth grit together. "I don't think I can take another meal of burned...whatever it was."

"Sushi." Max complained.

"Isn't sushi supposed to be eaten raw?" Dylan asked, and Angel laughed out loud.

"We should be leaving too, Heiji." Kazuha said, "We need to get back before curfew or the hotel doors will be closed for the night."

I didn't get the chance to tease Hattori and ask whether or not they happened to be sharing the same room, because Sonoko interrupted me. I hate it when that happens, you have a good comeback and somebody else starts talking. "I'll take the kids home." Sonoko said, and they all groaned aloud.

They all left after saying some quick goodbyes, and I leaned back in my bed. I felt dizzy, exhausted, but also relieved.

Oh yes, so relieved.

"Araide-sensei said that you should be well enough to leave the hospital tomorrow." Ran said, sitting in one of the chairs by my head. "He wants you to stay the night to make sure your head injury isn't bad anymore. Does it hurt at all Iggy-kun?"

"No, it doesn't Ran-neechan." I said with a smile. I heard her sigh in relief, and she settled into her chair. Shinichi was already sitting in his, and they both started to snore before I had the chance to drift into sleep. I smiled to myself, and closed my eyes. It was such a relief, not having to worry about hiding from my friends.

I wondered if Shinichi was jealous at all.

* * *

_**Fun chapter :3**_

_**My favorite part was with the goldfish, of course. X3 Because Kaito's a lot of fun to tease. **_

_**You'll be seeing him pop up some more, as he'll be a bit important in future chapters!**_

_**Yay! More Kaito! :3**_

_**No Shiho in this chapter, how sad...**_

_**On a slightly random note, here is a list of characters that I adore off of DC that I never thought I would adore:**_

_**Megure (Awesome guy)**_

_**Shiratori (back off of Satou though...)**_

_**'Quack Gunma Detective' (X3)**_

_**Kogoro (-cuddles-)**_

_**Vermouth (O.o)**_

_**Genta (He makes meh giggle...)**_

_**Reviews appreciated**_


	24. On the Darker Side of Things

_Disclaimer:_

_If I owned them I would have every single episode, and the dub would never have changed the names. D: Oh, and I don't own MR either, but I want to...because Iggy needs lurve. _

_**Lawl...**_

_**That disclaimer made me realize...**_

_**I really wish Iggy was mine. I love him so much. -cuddles-**_

_**Maybe I should send a letter to Mr. Patterson asking if I can keep him. Lol.**_

_**Naw, he'd never let me, who could part with such a cool character after all? **_

_**-sighs forlornly-**_

_**Anyways, this is a...well, a part of the story I'm using to throw in a bit more plot stuffs...**_

_**But it probably won't be very long...-.-u**_

_**Em Phantom- Cute scenes? You think THOSE are cute, just wait for chapter twenty-five! It's so fluffy you'll want to use it for a pillow...Sorry, this one doesn't have any IggyAi really, except I think he thinks about her some. :3 So that's kinda sweet...**_

_**Elena Forest- Lawl, Kaito's just so fun to tease. :3 Sorry for making it hard for you to read. My sister's like that too, by the way. I think you two would get along. She's always sneaking books to family outings and trying to be polite while still getting through her favorite parts. X3**_

_**Ashimattack- I'm glad you loved the last chapters. X3 Yeah, it's always the perk of reading fanfics that are a bit ahead of you. You don't have to wait for the next chapter to come about. :3 You haven't seen pure love until you read the chapter after this...I hope you won't be bored, as it's basically all DC character pairings for that bit. -.-u Sorry, I kept hitting roadblocks for Max, so heh...And YES a fish. A LOVE that about Kaito, so much. He can get away from a hundred cops, but put him in a room filled with fish and the poor guy would probably have a heart attack or something. X3 They do deserve fun, and they'll surely get it. **_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- I actually mention one of those awesome movies in the next chapter. Keep your eye out for it, I'm sure you'll be able to spot it. But UWAH, I haven't read the next manga chapter because I have no way of getting my paws on it. T.T But I WILL, I assure you. Because I love DC :3 Eee! Now I feel a bit good! I was able to keep the truth from my readers! -cackles- Just wait, one of those things you mentioned is gonna have a turn around in this chapter, I bet you weren't expecting! :3**_

_**

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**_

_Chapter Twenty-four- On the Darker Side of Things_

_**Approximately 72 Hours Ago**_

Scotch recoiled automatically, certain that the firing of the gun would be the end of his life. It took the man a moment to register the thud behind him, and as he turned he saw one of the men he had spotted through the scope lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"Ho-how?" Scotch rasped, wondering how the man had come to be here. Gin walked passed him, a frown on his face as he kicked at the dead body. "That man...just a moment ago he was on the tower."

"You picked a bad spot for sniping." Gin said in a low voice. Scotch winced slightly as the man continued coldly, "The sun reflects off your scope here, making it easy for the people you're hunting to notice you. A childish mistake..."

"Yes...I'm sorry." Scotch whimpered, still feeling sick to his stomach. Gin gave him a look that said he really could care less how sorry the man was. It made Scotch's stomach lurch sickeningly. Was he going to kill him? Gin wasn't exactly known for being merciful and neither was the Boss.

"That person told me to give you a warning." Gin gave him a look crossed with disgust and scorn, "Take it wisely, Scotch. It isn't often that warnings are given within our ranks. While you are a fairly valuable asset you aren't irreplacable...and I wouldn't mind being the one ordered to kill you."

Scotch didn't know what he could possibly say in return, and found himself staring at his hands instead. His head was spinning with the fact that he had escaped this alive. The Boss would surely get back at him for it later. Scotch glanced over his shoulder to the tower behind him.

If he could find Sherry...maybe that would make it up to the Boss.

* * *

Goichi grimaced at the gunshot that he heard over his radio. So his suspicions had been correct. At least he had been smart enough to send a lacky of his into that place instead of himself. The Eraser growled to himself, tapping the earpiece. "We have a small scale problem on our hands it seems."

"Eh?" Cyril seemed confused. Goichi grinned at the man, enjoying the way he recoiled a little involuntarily. "What do you mean? A small scale problem?"

"It seems that there's another group after the kid we've got. Or something like that." Goichi tipped his head to one side as he listened to the conversation on the other end. A grin crossed his features at the cold voice of somebody else. An uncontrollable urge suddenly filled him, to face this man as an opponent. "Hm...seems that one of the underlings went against something important."

"Are they going to be a problem?" Cyril asked, fiddling with the edges of his sleeves. Goichi paused.

"Yes, I think they will be." Goichi said, perhaps it was the wolf part of him that was being a bit territorial, but he didn't want these people to leave. He wanted to best them in some way. A grin crossed his features, and he felt that his teeth were sharper than usual. "Perhaps I should solve the problem."

"Do you think that would be a good idea?" Cyril hissed, "Something about these people gives me the creeps."

Goichi tipped his head to one side. Whoever had killed his Eraser had left the room awhile ago, their voices had vanished. Almost as soon as this thought went through his head he was tearing the earpiece off and grabbing at his ear. An explosion shook both places, and the sound had probably managed to burst one of his eardrums.

If he had been hesitant about finding those assholes there wasn't a bit of that left now. Goichi snarled and began stalking for the entrance. As he wrenched the door open Cyril let out a sharp sound of protest. Goichi noticed a porsche driving away, a black one. He grinned, he was on their trail now.

"Goichi-sama!" One of his group ran up to them, huffing and looking a little worried. "Um...yo-you see we have a problem. It seems that somehow the child got out of his cage..."

"WHAT!" Goichi snarled, ready to tear the man's throat out just for bringing him this bad news. Goichi glared, after the car. He KNEW it, there had been something about that damned brat that wasn't right. The kid was smarter than any child he'd met around that age.

"We-well they think they've kind of found him." The underling murmured, "In the vents that is."

"Then start the building on fire. Two of them, corner the little worthless brat like the vermin he is." Goichi ordered, "I'm going to take care of some personal business. Cyril-san, get in the damned car."

"B-but...alright." Cyril squeaked at the glare that Goichi gave him. Goichi slammed the door shut behind him and enjoyed the sound of the tires screeching as he wrenched the wheel around. He'd show those assholes for ruining things. Cyril yelped as they swerved onto the road, "Goichi-san you'll kill us!"

"Not until I face that ass I won't." Goichi snarled.

_**

* * *

**_

Scotch glanced over his shoulder out the window. His eyes widened in surprise, somebody seemed to be following them. Vodka, who had noticed Scotch's sudden twitching, looked back as well. A hiss was issued through the man's teeth, "Aniki, it seems as if somebody is trying to follow us."

"Oh?" Gin said, cold amusement clear in his voice. Scotch watched as the man's cold eyes darted to a nearby sign. He turned smoothly, and the car behind them had to make a quick right to follow them. "So it seems. This will be interesting."

The person behind them was obviously having a hard time controlling their emotions. Scotch could see it in the way they drove. Gin's movements by comparison were almost more terrifying. The calm that had descended on the car...Scotch certainly didn't envy the baka who had decided to follow them like this.

Scotch didn't dare ask the long-haired man where he was taking them.

He didn't have to anyways, after a moment he saw a sign flash by. Confused Scotch murmured, "Dockyard?"

"It should be empty." Gin said calmly, executing a perfect turn and spinning the porsche around expertly. The man stepped out of his car and lit up a cigarette. "Now then, let's see who was playing cat-and-mouse with us."

Scotch didn't think that fit so well, considering the mouse rarely ever chased the cat.

* * *

Goichi stepped from the car, a grin on his features. Now this, the man that stood there now, he was a worthy opponent. Cyril stayed in the car, recoiling from the long-haired man as if sensing something horrible from him. Goichi could see how someone so spineless could fear him. After all, he possessed an inhuman quality of calm. No, not calm, because there was enjoyment in those cold eyes.

Interesting indeed.

"Goichi-sama, this is a bad idea." Cyril murmured, "Get back in the car. We should make sure the other's followed your instructions, ne?"

"Goichi, was it?" The long-haired man spoke with contempt, and Goichi had the feeling that he left off the formality to be disrespectful. Goichi could feel his fangs starting to grow, "What business do you think you have with me then? I have little time, and I don't care for it to be wasted."

At the end of the sentence the man smiled, a cold and cruel smile. Goichi bared his teeth.

"My, do we have sharp little ears." Goichi growled, he had never been the type to pick up on danger. He wasn't made for that sort of thing, after all he was nearly completely indestructable. His muzzle began growing out, until his head was completely that of a wolf. He bared his fangs, "Too bad I have to kill you."

"Gin...that thing..." A scared looking man whimpered, pointing at Goichi. Goichi howled with pleasure, but...the person he had called Gin seemed unaffected. He was only looking at him with that same cold joy he'd had since the very beginning. A joy that was almost a hunger.

Cyril bailed out of the car, making Goichi glance at the man as he scrambled desperately to get away. Goichi noticed the sound of the silenced gunshot as Cyril pitched forward. A hole had been put nicely into the back of his head. The man collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Damn." Goichi growled, "That was my scientist you know. As annoying as he was, I kinda needed him."

"You aren't known for being all that smart are you?" Gin spoke calmly, the corner's of his mouth curving into a wicked smile as he pointed the gun in his direction. Goichi howled with rage, and charged him. Even then the long-haired man did not react with surprise, his wicked grin only grew further. "You probably won't be missed."

Pain exploded in his chest, Goichi didn't even remember hearing the shot. Even silenced it should have made some noise right. The Eraser staggered, a hand flying to his chest where the bullet had punctured him. He was harder than that to kill though. Goichi staggered forward, fang's bared in fury.

Another shot, probably, but by that point Goichi could only tell by the squeezing of Gin's finger on the trigger. His ears were ringing endlessly, and he was on his knees. Anger surged through him. _Get up damn you! Get up and fight this weak little man! You have strength! What does he have?_

The last thing he saw was the barrel of the gun, silently mocking him with it's superiority.

_**

* * *

**_

No evidence was left behind, Scotch knew that Gin was good at what he did. He sat in the back seat of his car, wringing his hands as he remembered the scene behind them. It wasn't as though Scotch hadn't killed before. There had been those two witnesses that he had disposed of easily enough but...

That didn't mean he genuinely ENJOYED killing. Not like Gin.

The man was hard to read, but Scotch would have thought that the man was actually in brighter spirits after getting to kill those at the docks. Scotch had realized immediately that one of those had been another hybrid, created by the same people who created those bird-children.

Should he have said as much to Gin? Was it really important? The man didn't seem at all surprised by the fact that he had just seen another guy change into something rather wolfy. Scotch looked out the window, and tried to swallow his fear.

He wasn't safe as long as he was below Gin, but if he got higher than him somehow...by capturing Sherry perhaps, then maybe things wouldn't be so bad? But if he was going to do that...he would have to be careful. Very, very careful.

* * *

_**Present**_

Scotch could hardly believe his eyes. So Iggy had managed to escape...that was...good? Yes, that was good. Because when he had looked up the person who was supposed to have killed Iggy in the database it appeared to be Gin and Vodka. Interesting indeed.

He could use this Iggy to put something against Gin. Even for that man mistakes were not tolerated within the syndicate. Scotch giggled with something akin to pleasure, his spirits were much better without the blonde hovering over him incessantly. Scotch glanced over his shoulder as if expecting him to appear at any moment.

But he was no fool. He hadn't come here using the syndicate's equipment. He had settled for his own.

Scotch lifted the binoculars to his face once more and spotted the blind child easily. He had a bandage about his head, but didn't look any the worse for wear. Scotch frowned. Sherry didn't seem to be among the children that were with him at the moment. He wondered why.

"Oi." Scotch said, as one of the children stopped and glanced over right in his direction. Scotch knew there was no way for the boy to see him where he was now, but the fact that he was looking directly his way bothered him a little. It seemed almost as if he were glaring right through the binoculars into Scotch's eyes. "What's his problem?"

He had planted bugs near the front of the home, inside the house itself, as well as the agency where they worked. Scotch dug through his things until he pressed one of the earbuds in his ear.

"Something wrong?" Iggy was saying to the boy. All the other children had gone inside, and Iggy had waved Ran away as if knowing that something was up. It was strange how he seemed to know what was happening, even if he couldn't see.

"I just...feel like something's watching us." The boy said slowly. Scotch chuckled to himself a little nervously, that boy had good instincts if he could tell something so easily. A dark skinned teen, one Scotch hadn't quite realized was part of the group, leaned against the wall and laughed.

"You're just paranoid Kudou." He said, Scotch's eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about that name.

"Oi, oi, how many times do I have to tell you..." The boy's voice faded as he walked out of range of that particular tranceiver. Iggy paused for a heartbeat before following him and the dark-skinned boy. Scotch fiddled with the buttons on his radio, his eyes narrowed in thought.

On a whim the man pulled a laptop from his things. He walked to a nearby coffee shop, with wireless internet, and began to type. In the search bar he typed; _**Kudou**_

Several things appeared, of course, but the thing that caught his eye was the name of a particular high schooler. Clicking the page he read several articles about a detective who was supposedly the savior of the Japanese police force. Scotch blinked as a picture came up on the screen.

Curious he dug through his things and pulled out the pictures he had taken of Iggy. Sure enough the boy from earlier was in the background, standing in a group seperate from the other children that consisted of Iggy, Sherry and the boy with the glasses. Scotch pulled the picture of Kudou Shinichi into photoshop and scetched some glasses over his face.

A grin appeaered on his features, and he laughed out loud. So Sherry's poison had gotten the high school detective only halfway as well. This was rich, this was amazing. He knew for a FACT that Kudou Shinichi had been somebody Gin was supposed to kill. That was three things he could now hold against the man with long hair.

He would never be afraid of him again.

_**

* * *

**_

I was having my fourth helping of dinner when I finally noticed that Shinichi wasn't eating. Hey, don't blame me, I'm not the detective of the group. I'm just...the blind kid who likes to eat a lot. I swallowed my massive mouthful of food and asked, "What's wrong? Still stuck on that thing earlier?"

"I have a bad feeling." Shinichi murmured.

Bad feelings weren't good. (Obviously, I mean, look at what they're called for Pete's sake...) Hey, remember, it was bad feelings that happened before the Erasers scooped me up off the street. If I could trust my instincts I should probably have been able to trust Shinichi's as well. It could be as Hattori had said earlier, that it was merely a case of paranoia but...

"Maybe we should come up with a reason to stay in Ran's room tonight." I whispered in his ear.

"Perverts." Hattori hissed, having heard the conversation because he was listening on the otherside of Shinichi's head probably. I stuck my tongue out at him for being a jerk. That's not what I meant and he should have been able to know it. I wanted to do anything that would make Shinichi more comfortable.

"Maybe." Shinichi murmured, ignoring Hattori's comment as if it hadn't been said. In a louder voice he said, "Ne, Ran-neechan? Could Iggy-kun and I bring our futons into your room tonight?"

"Why?" Kogoro said, and I could imagine he was giving us a glare.

"Because, your snoring is too loud and my head still hurts Oji-san!" I said chipperly. Hattori snorted with laughter, which he tried to cover up by eating some more food. So basically he was trying to make himself sound like a pig I guess. I don't know his reasoning, as him, he's the genius.

"That shouldn't be too much trouble. It would be kind of fun, ne, Kazuha-chan?" Ran said cheerfully. Kazuha quickly agreed and I put in an overexaggerated bout of cheering for good measure.

"Oi, Kudou..." Hattori whispered, "If ya even glance at Kazuha I'll make ya pay for it."

"Why would I want to do that?" Shinichi said flatly. I snorted with laughter picturing the clueless look plastered on Hattori's face. With a hint of mischief to his tone Shinichi added, "Why do you even care, Hattori? You didn't even say anything about Ran. What, it'd be fine if I peeked at her but not Kazuha?"

"Ran's practically your wife." Hattori said nervously, though he sounded extremely confused. I covered my laughter with my hand as the Osakan added, a little too loudly, "I couldn't care less about that ahou Kazuha."

"Baka..." Shinichi and I said at the same time as Kazuha slammed her fist onto the table.

"Wh-what I mean is...erm..." Hattori said, at a complete loss as to what to say. I snorted covered my mouth with both of my hands in a desperate attempt to hide my laughter. There was just something amusing about how Hattori dug himself a hole no matter what he managed to say.

"Couldn't care less, eh, Heiji?" Kazuha said, "Perhaps I should just leave you in Tokyo all alone. I didn't HAVE to come here with you...I wonder how you'd be able to find yourself some return tickets, eh?"

"Ahou, I could get back without ya if I wanted." Hattori said.

"Without any money?" Kazuha said flatly.

"Kudou would pay for me." Hattori said confidently, I felt Shinichi fall down behind me. I snorted with laughter again, and tried to cover it up by pretending I had a cough.

"Oi, oi..." Shinichi murmured, "How did I manage to get pulled into this?"

"Alright, this is more for the sake of Kazuha-chan's feelings than anything else." I whispered in Shinichi's ear. With the most mischevious grin I've ever done, except for maybe when I've built some bombs before, I said, "Ne, Heiji-niichan, you wouldn't want to go on the train even without money, ne? After all, you like Kazuha-neechan's company!"

"Wha? OW!" Hattori said, and I can only assume Shinichi stopped him from kicking away the only thing that was saving him for now. I could hear Kazuha fidgeting as if she were slightly embarassed. Hissing it so the girl couldn't hear Hattori said, "What was that all about?"

"You keep saying insensitive things like that and you'll hurt her feelings." I advised quietly, "How is it that you can be a detective when you hardly have a brain?"

"What?" Hattori growled, I stuck my tongue out at him in reply.

"Hey, Ran-chan, have you heard from Kudou-kun recently?" Kazuha asked, "You know...a certain day is coming up pretty soon."

That, I'm pretty sure, was a hint at Hattori. Though I had absolutely what holiday she could be talking about. Probably some Japanese thing that we didn't do back home. I felt Shinichi stiffen next to me, and felt a pang of pity for my friend. It must suck, having to keep Ran so worried.

"No..." Ran said, then paused. "I've been meaning to ask, Hattori-kun...are you in touch with Shinichi?"

"Yeah, so?" Hattori asked, oblivious to Shinichi's desperate attempts to stop him from saying something stupid. I winced, and sunk my head down under the table. Hattori finally seemed to notice Shinichi, now that he was slamming his head against the table. "What?"

"Baka." I hissed through my teeth, noticing that Ran was unusually quiet.

"Hmmm..." Kazuha said. "Perhaps you and Kudou-kun aren't meant for each other Ran-chan...since he and Heiji seem to be dating at the moment."

I burst into laughter, Shinichi flopped over and slammed his face against the table, and Hattori started choking on whatever he had been eating. The thing that got me was the fact that she said this in a completely normal tone, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. I could hardly breathe I was laughing so hard. The two detectives I happened to be laughing at were probably glaring at me. Still, I think that, even though he'd never admit it, Shinichi appreciated Kazuha. Because Ran was laughing as well.

* * *

Scotch was listening to the dinner over the radio. It was hard to determine who was who with just their voices, but he probably didn't need to know everything. It seemed as though only the Osakan boy knew what had happened to them. Hattori Heiji, he figured out from the conversation.

Scotch twirled his pen. He'd have to figure out when those two were leaving town. The boy would just be another head added to the list that would bring him above Gin after all. Scotch laughed out loud. Things were definitely beginning to look up now. Scotch narrowed his eyes.

While it was safe to say that the other people in the home didn't know, he couldn't say as much for those children they always hung around with. No, that would be idiotic of them. Children could be blabber mouths after all. So they wouldn't have told them. There was no need to trouble himself with them. But...Scotch narrowed his eyes further. Surely the detective would be hard to capture. He mustn't underestimate this boy, his gut told him that.

After all, he had survived Gin.

The man glanced back at the computer he had opened, a smile curving his lips as a realization struck him. That idea, that could work. Oh yes, that would definitely work with his streak...

_**

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**_

_**And the chapter ends on an ominous note.**_

_**What could Scotch be planning?**_

**_Did you all think he was dead? Well he's not! -cackles- Because I need him for later...-pats baddy-_**

_**You probably won't find out for awhile. -evil cackle of doom-**_

**_I had WAAAY too much fun writing Gin fighting with Goichi...X3_**

_**I know it's short, but BELIEVE me the next chapter more than makes up for it...**_

_**In fact, I'm uploading it tonight...X3**_

_**Reviews are lurved :3**_


	25. The Five Tales of White Day

_Disclaimer:_

_I don't own MR, DC, or White Day :3_

_**IMPORTANT NOTE THING: THIS IS THE SECOND HALF OF A DOUBLE UPLOAD, MEANING THAT I UPLOADED IT THE SAME DAY I UPLOADED ANOTHER CHAPTER! MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT OTHER ONE FIRST, IT'S IMPORTANT!**_

_**So this chapter is going to be based off of White Day!**_

_**For those of you who don't know what that is, let me explain.**_

_**In Japan Valentine's day is a day where girls give the boys they like chocolate. White Day (March 14) is a day for boys to give gifts to girls. (Romantic gifts can include chocolate, and other fun things like necklaces or white based objects ;3)**_

_**Yes, I'm aware that it's not actually White Day today...**_

_**But...**_

_**I was so unhappy that they've got a Valentines Day episode for DC but not a White Day one...**_

_**YET, as far as I have seen.**_

_**So ecause of that, I'm making myself happy with this fun little chapter.**_

_**It has nothing to do with the plot at all, I'm obliviously proud to announce.**_

_**Just a ton of flurf :3**_

_**It's also longer than most chapters...because it's a celebration that I've reached twenty-five chapters in this fanfiction. :3 I'm incredibly proud of this fact, so brace yourselves for this uber long chapter of luuuuurve X3**_

_**Enjoy**_

_**

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**_

_Chapter Twenty-five- The Five Tales of White Day_

I sniffed the air around the food I was cooking carefully while tipping my head in the direction of Nudge. I knew that I was basically asking for an incredibly lengthy monologue, but she had at least caught my attention a little bit. "White Day?" I asked, curious as to what she was so excited about.

"Yep!" Nudge said, sounding excited. I heard the chair scrape as she sat down, "Apparently, here in Japan, the girls are the only ones to give chocolate on Valentines day. Now these people thought it would be courteous for guys to return the favor by giving more expensive gifts in return. A sorta romantic gratitude thing. I'm so excited! I wonder if I'll get anything from any of the boys in my class? Oh, I hope that they'll give me something neat. Like...um...cookies! Or even some jewelry!"

Ah, so that was what Kazuha had been hinting towards the other day at dinner. I wonder if those two knuckle-headed detectives had figured as much out, or if that little comment she'd made helped them to forget. Still, I didn't want Nudge to get her hopes up for no reason at all.

"That wouldn't make sense." I said flatly, shifting the bacon that I'd cooked onto a plate. Gazzy came from out of nowhere and ran off with it. "Oi! Don't eat it all Gazz! That's for everyone!"

"What do you mean that wouldn't make sense?" Nudge pouted as I threw some more bacon in a pan. It seemed the eggs would be done soon as well. I rolled my eyes in Nudge's direction.

"Think about it. It's for guys to return the courtesy of a girl giving them chocolate. It stands to reason that unless you actually were here for Valentines day, which you weren't, you wouldn't get anything for this holiday." I placed the eggs on the next plate, and this time when Gazzy reached to grab it I smacked his hand away with my spatula. Considering his hiss of irritation I'd say I got a bulls-eye. "They wouldn't be obliged to."

"So, maybe they just like her." Angel said cheerfully. "I have a good feeling that some of the boys in MY school are gonna give me some stuff."

_Oi, oi, probably because you mind-controlled them..._I thought. I managed to wrestle the plate of bacon Gazzy had stolen away from him, before throwing the heaping plates of food on the table. This was my second day cooking breakfast for the Flock. I had decided to make it a routine to come by here and cook breakfast before I headed to school. That meant I was getting up pretty early in the morning, but I was handling it pretty well.

It was surprising how well it fit. Like an old glove, and though some things about my sudden lack of height were awkward it seemed that everything was going to be alright.

Except...well, Max was kinda giving me the cold shoulder. It seemed that she was pretty ticked with me for leaving like I did. I suppose that makes sense, but sometimes I wish she'd just grow up...that being said, as a retort to her silent treatment I didn't speak a single word of English in the apartment. I knew it drove her up the wall, but when she was willing to talk to me maybe I'd have some words to say that she could actually understand.

"Edible food!" Total praised, and heaved a contented sounding sigh. "I have to say Iggy, I'm certainly glad you've returned home. The food that Max was making for us wasn't fit for a cat."

"I tried cooking as well but...well, let's just say that we couldn't get the stove lit so Gazzy tried to use some explosives." Dylan sounded vaguely embarassed. "We're lucky the stove was still usable."

"What did you try to use?" I asked, grinning wickedly. "I wonder how angry Shinichi would be with me if I played a small scale prank on Ran-san...then again she hasn't ever done anything to make me want to prank her. Sheesh, I'll have to figure out something to get Shinichi one of these times though."

"He's a detective right?" Gazzy asked, I could hear the mischief in his tone. "Hey! What if you left him all of these clues saying there was a big bomb that he had to defuse or something, and then at the end the timer would run out and a little flag would pop out and say, 'bang'!"

"You. Are. My. Hero." I said, grabbing for Gazzy and punching him in the arm lightly. "Haha! Watch out Kudou Shinichi!"

"You'll have to make sure he's not, like, in full panic mode right?" Nudge asked. I frowned.

"Awww, but that basically ruins the whole thing." Gazzy pointed out. I snorted with laughter at the mere thought of just how utterly irritated Shinichi would be in the end if we were to pull something like this. I snapped my fingers.

"You know what would make it better? If we had a flash bomb in there! Something that would let out a bright light so that he thought for sure he exploded!" I cackled, and began rubbing the palms of my hands together. "Oh-ho yes, this would be amazing! And of course Hattori has to be involved somehow as well..."

"You're evil." Dylan said, though he sounded vaguely amused.

"Iggy are you going to give any girls gifts for White Day?" Angel asked slowly, I choked on the orange juice I had been drinking. I cut a sideways glare in her direction and heard her giggle. Max sat down next to me and silently grabbed for the bacon. Remember, cold shoulder.

"Why would I do that?" I snorted in irritation, crossing my arms over my chest. I found myself remembering that Shiho hadn't been to school, at all, since the fire. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was avoiding me or something like that. I grimaced, and fiddled with my napkin. "Remember, most of the kids in my class happen to be nearly ten years younger than me. I'm not some freaky pedophile."

"Yeah, MOST of the girls." Gazzy said. I swear, that kid can pick up on whether or not I'm uncomfortable about something from a mile away. Sometimes I wondered if he had the ability to read minds as well as his little sister. I didn't have much of a reply, so I merely snorted in something akin to irritation.

"We better go. We'll be late." Max said sharply. I could basically feel the wince around the room. Okay, we get it Max, Iggy is supposed to be public enemy number one. The room fell awkwardly silent but I hopped off my chair and grabbed for my bag.

"See you tomorrow then guys." I said, ducking out of the room and into the hallway.

* * *

Three things were obvious to me as I sat in class that day. The first was that Shiho wasn't in school, again. The second was that this fact bothered me considerably, because I couldn't help but think she was doing it to avoid me for some reason. The third was that White Day, despite being something slightly on the romantic side, was something that had everyone buzzing with excitement.

Everyone but a certain shrunken detective.

"Did you get something for Ran?" I whispered, wondering why he seemed so depressed. Whatever his reply was, it was silent. I paused, and growled after a moment, "Hey, mini-detective, don't forget that you happen to be talking with somebody was blind. Visual responses don't cut it."

"Yes, I got her something." Shinichi said, sounding as if he wanted the floor to swallow him whole or something. Not out of embarassment, but out of something depressing. Good lord, compared to him Shiho was Miss Sunshine Princess. That's saying quite a bit.

"Conan-kun is sad..." Ayumi said, sounding rather concerned. See, he was depressed. Enough so that the Detective Boys were picking up on it. He wasn't even trying to HIDE it though, which was kind of bothering me. Shinichi wasn't the type of guy that broadcasted his feelings.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?" I asked, really worried about the detective now.

"It's nothing." Shinichi said, bucking up a bit, though I think it was for the sake of the kids. I frowned, wondering what could possibly have upset him so much. He seemed to be seriously down in the dumps today.

_**

* * *

**_

She had been crying. When Shinichi had gone to ask Ran if she was ready for school he had found her, sitting on the floor and sobbing her heart out. When they were walking to school she had started crying again as well. He hated HATED it when he made her cry.

And he knew it was his fault, without a doubt.

Shinichi sighed, flattening his gaze. If only Haibara were at school, then maybe he could try and take one of the temporary antidotes to drop by and cheer Ran up...then again he didn't really have a cold at the moment so... If only he had been smart, and called her early in the morning just so she could talk with him for a short while.

There was the gift, but he had to think of a way to get it to her that would cheer her up. He was certain that the appeal of mysterious detective was beginning to wear off. She wanted to see him, to talk with him. And he couldn't do that. It didn't help matters that everyone seemed to think he was a jackass.

He would, if he could, visit Ran.

* * *

"If we keep missing school like this we'll be in trouble." Kazuha said. Heiji hardly heard her, he was too busy having a small-scale panic attack in his head. Kazuha was in good spirits, happy, cheerful. It was good to see her like that (it meant she wasn't ready to kill him for once) but Heiji was afraid that mood would vanish.

He had completely, and totally, forgotten that it was White Day.

Not that he thought of Kazuha as anything more than a friend...right? That put aside, he was still obligated to get her something since she had given him a chocolate for Valentines Day.

They had been exchanging gifts like this since they were little kids, and it hadn't really meant anything before. Heiji shrugged off the strange feeling of nervousness that was fluttering in his stomach. Couldn't he just be honest with her and tell her that he forgot? That would make more sense, after all, it wasn't anything special or romantic right?

"Kazuha..." Heiji said, and found himself stopping despite what he said. His friend looked back at him with a warm smile and Heiji tripped over his words, "U-uh...I have to go...figure somethin' out real quick! I'll see ya later!"

With that the dark-skinned detective took off into the crowd.

_**

* * *

**_

"Oooooooii..." The soft hiss came from the window, and really I don't know why the idiot thought people couldn't hear him. I scooted my chair closer to him, letting the legs scrape against the ground and affectlively brought the classtime to a halt. Giving Hattori a wicked grin I leaned against the window.

"Heiji-niichan, what're you doing by the window?" I asked. This was followed by the class bursting into a fit of giggles at the obviously embarassed look from the dark-skinned boy in the window. I tipped my head to one side, "There isn't some kind of trouble is there?"

"He just forgot about White Day is all." Shinichi said in something like a bored tone of voice. The whole class let out a chorus of, 'ooooo' at this, and I could hear shifting in seats as they all looked at the idiot boy who had forgotten to get a gift for his girlfriend on one of the most romantic days in the world.

"Oi, oi, hold on a second..." Hattori said. This batch of words made the entire class start giggling.

"How come he talks so funny?" One kid announced.

"Is he a foreigner?" Another asked.

"Oi!" Hattori said, sounding clearly irritated. "Kansei-ban is perfectly normal Japanese, thank you very much. I'm sorry for interrupting your class Sensei, but I wasn wondering if it would be possible to steal the Edogawa brothers from ya real quick like."

"No." Shinichi said flatly. I snickered as the detective fell over. Shinichi added, quieter so that only those immediately close to us could hear. "It's not a case or you would have bothered to use the front door. My deduction was correct, ne? So, you dug yourself in this hole. If Kazuha-chan is really important to you you'll think of something."

"But..." Hattori's words were cut off as the teacher shut the window in his face. The class roared with amused laughter, and even the teacher chuckled a bit. (Probably at whatever expression was on the poor Osakan detective's face at the moment) Class resumed, and poor Hattori was left standing in the school yard probably looking like a forlorn little puppy.

It made me think though, obviously Shinichi was getting something for Ran. Hattori was thinking of something to do for Kazuha...what should I do? Shiho had been clearly avoiding me since the event in the vents but...

_"I shouldn't have fallen in love." _She had murmured, before brushing her lips against my own...

"Iggy-kun? Do you care to involve the rest of the classroom in whatever you were daydreaming about just now?" The teacher asked, catching me off guard. I felt my cheeks heat up involuntarily as I stammered out a quick denial and apology. She continued on with her lesson and I sighed heavily.

What was a blind bird-kid with trust issues to do?

* * *

Aoko was writing her homework down when her bestfriend sat next to her in class. He seemed fidgity for some reason, even a little nervous. Aoko glanced at the magician, narrowing her eyes in suspicion slightly. What was up with Kaito now? Had he done something that would require her getting him out of trouble?

It wouldn't be something all that farfetched with him.

"What is it Kaito?" She asked, finally deciding to call him out on it. Sometimes it seemed as if Kaito had this amazing ability to hide what he was really thinking...but somehow Aoko could see through it everytime. It wasn't as though, when he was really trying, she would ever call him out on it.

There was just something she could always tell with her best friend. Kaito stiffened, and looked slightly embarassed. Kaito? Embarassed? Why?

"For you." He said, producing a box from seemingly out of nowhere. Aoko blinked twice in surprise...was he getting her a gift for White Day? She felt her cheeks heat up slightly as she took the box. Why was he so nervous about it then?

Just before she removed the lid to the box she thought she caught sight of...a mischevious grin? But no, she must have imagined it. She removed the lid and felt her face heat up with embarassment and a little bit of rage too.

Sexy underwear. Oh Kami the idiot had gotten her some...

Several students had crowded around the two, interested for some reason unknown to Aoko. The girls that were in the immediate vicinity clapped their hands over their mouths in a gesture of something mixed with pity and horror. The boys all began to get nosebleeds, except for Dylan and Hakuba who both just looked plain embarassed to be standing there.

Aoko let her bangs cover her eyes, listening to Kaito laugh was just pissing her off even more than the initial prank.

That...that JERK.

Aoko was probably more angry with Kaito than she'd ever been, ever. Why? Because he had thought it would be HILARIOUS to give her some white...well, white undergarments as you would say for White Day. He had presented it to her, acting as if he were cute and genuine, and then...

Aoko slammed the handle of her mop against another desk. Something cracked, and she hoped she hadn't somehow managed to get somebody's fingers caught in the crossfire. Kaito danced away, oblivious to the fact that he'd completely gone over the line with the pranks this time.

For lack of anything else to do she hurled the mop at the magician's feet. He was caught off guard by that, since she usually wielded it like a sword or something. He crashed to the ground, and winced slightly. "Ow, okay that REALLY hurt this time..."

He trailed off, snapping his mouth shut and looking suddenly slightly nervous. Aoko realized she was crying, though she couldn't exactly place the reason for it right off. She backed away out of the room, feeling her face warm from the embarassment of that on top of everything else. For lack of anything else to do she spun around and ran out of the room.

_**

* * *

**_

Takagi shifted his eyes nervously back and forth. It was one of those rare moments in the day when the break room was empty...except for her. The dark-skinned officer breathed something like a lovestruck sigh. That much would make sense, since he was quite intoxicated by that arrow of Cupid's.

Taking a deep breath he stepped into the room. "Satou-san!" He announced, blushing lightly because he'd said her name rather loudly. She glanced up at him from whatever she had been reading, her features slightly curious. Takagi stumbled, "Er...ehehe, how are you doing today?"

"I'm okay, Takagi-kun." Satou said, giving him a smile that made his heart stutter slightly. Takagi sat next to her, looking curiously at what she had in her hands. "I'm just looking over the Sleeping Sleuth cases..."

"Why?" Takagi blinked, a little confused. Satou shook her head and put the files away, looking as if she had something on her mind. Takagi figured she wouldn't want to share whatever she had thought of in front of him. She looked slightly embarassed for a moment before bringing up the files again.

"Ever notice...that the same day Conan-kun came was when Mouri-san started to get good at deductions?" Satou said, pulling them out. She frowned in concentration, and Takagi loved the way her eyes looked when she was thinking hard. "It's ridiculous, but there's something about it that seems a bit strange."

"Perhaps Conan-kun is solving them for him?" Takagi said with a nervous laugh. Recalling the spectacled boy, however, soon made his laughter die. If there was any kid that could be doing something like that it would be awfully easy to imagine Conan as the one. Satou blinked at him, as though he said something that niggled a thought in her head. Then she was glancing over his shoulder and blinking.

"Oh, hello everyone." She said, and Takagi winced. He had the distinct sensation that death was hovering over his shoulder as he turned to face the furious glares of every man that worked within the police force. Takagi let out a nervous laugh, but secretly cursed every man with all the words he could possibly think of.

He supposed it was his fault though, for not getting to the point quicker. He wouldn't be able to give her the gift with all of them in the room, not unless he wanted to disappear and be found in some closet in America or something ridiculous like that. The young officer hung his head as Satou began conversing with the people of the groups.

* * *

Being a detective meant you had to be confident most of the time. Being a detective meant that you couldn't let panic override what you were doing, but then for Heiji Kazuha always seemed to be the exception to his detective rules anyways. It was like she was in a completely different category from everyone else.

He didn't want her to be unhappy that he'd forgotten. Heiji was beginning to feel rotten just knowing the fact himself. He knew that Kazuha would be mad, but that wasn't what made him hesitate...it was the fact that she'd be sad that bothered him. He couldn't stand the thought of it being his fault she was upset.

Like that time he'd had a deduction battle with her. Heiji had never been so shocked in his life, so utterly unhappy with the way he had been acting, than the moment that he had seen Kazuha crying because he was going to beat her. It had taken him a moment to remember Kudou telling him that there were no winnings and losings in deduction. Only the truth.

And the truth was...he hated it when Kazuha was sad.

But what was he supposed to do? He had texted Kazuha, telling her to meet him in a park near the time the sun would set. Which was all well and good, but he couldn't say that the sunset was her present. She'd see right through it and know right away that he'd forgotten and was just trying to find a way to give her something.

Heiji grabbed his head with his hand and groaned. Really, why was it so hard to think of something? It was just White Day...he could stop at a store and get some cookies or something for her.

That didn't seem to be enough though.

"Ahou, at this point it doesn't matter just get her SOMETHING!" The detective growled at himself, rubbing both sides of his head with his hands in an attempt to get the blood flowing and bring forth some idea. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he stalked towards a bakery.

Something caught his eye. Heiji paused midstep, his foot hanging above the sidewalk as he leaned back to look in the store window. He hopped back twice on one foot before running into the store. That thing, it was perfect. He didn't know how he knew it, he just...knew that Kazuha would love it.

He had to get it.

_**

* * *

**_

Shinichi sighed as he shut the door to Agasa's house behind him. So much for that, apparently Haibara didn't have any of the temporary antidote on hand right at this moment. The shrunken detective's spirits were looking rather low at the moment. As he stepped down the sidewalk he noticed that Iggy was leaning against the fencepost, waiting for him. The Detective Boys were there as well.

"Ne, Conan-kun." Mitsuhiko said, and Shinichi held his hands in front of him with a nervous chuckle. Why did the child sound so furious. Genta looked angry as well. Ayumi just looked ever so slightly embarassed, she was holding onto a white stuffed rabbit and fiddling with it's ear.

"Did you get Ayumi anything for White Day?" Genta demanded.

"Uh..." The answer to that would be no, he had forgotten since he was thinking about Ran. Iggy had apparently remembered, since he was arching an eyebrow at him like he was a moron. Now that's just sad, being outdown by the guy who didn't even know White Day existed until earlier in the day.

"It's okay, Conan-kun doesn't have to get me anything." Ayumi said, but she looked tearful. Shinichi felt a distinct pang of guilt. Just because it was slightly annoying to have a little kid crushing on you didn't mean that he didn't care about Ayumi. She was one of his...kids after all.

"Didn't I mention it?" Iggy said, sounding slightly bored. "Conan-niichan picked the rabbit out for you Ayumi-chan. We decided to get you a gift together since Oji-san is mean and took Conan-niichan's allowance away last week, ne, Conan-niichan?"

"Yeah." Shinichi said, wishing that Iggy was able to recieve a grateful glance. He truly deserved it. Ayumi blinked, then looked suddenly very happy as she cuddled the stuffed toy to her chest. As she skipped away, followed by Mitsuhiko and Genta, Shinichi couldn't help but ask, "When did you get that for her?"

"On the way to school. I asked the lady at the store and she actually gave me the thing for free." Iggy said, he looked as though he would have liked to scowl, but amusement was on his features instead. "She thought I was an 'adorable little boyfriend for whatever girl I have'..."

"I shouldn't have forgotten." Shinichi said.

"It's not like you, that's for sure. You're not happy because of Ran right?" Iggy asked. Shinichi sometimes wondered if his friend realized how perceptive he really was. With some practice Iggy would make a good detective, even though he happened to be blind. It was strange, the things he picked up on sometimes.

"Yeah...she was crying this morning." Shinichi said, surprised at himself for how depressed he sounded. Iggy stayed silent for a moment before getting up and walking away from the house that was behind them. Shinichi blinked and followed after him, he had the feeling that the blind boy was going to reply to what he had said.

"Look at it this way." Iggy said, as though deciding something suddenly. It was strange how he seemed to be looking at him, his features were very serious as he held up a finger, "The reason she cries is because she cares about you. I know it hurts that she is crying...but she's worried and you can't expect her not to be. I'm not saying that you should be happy because she's upset...I'm saying...she's going to wait for you. She's waited this long, ne? She won't quit anytime soon."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Shinichi snorted, rolling his eyes slightly. He wouldn't admit it but...it helped a little. "I don't feel good for making her worry."

"Just one more reason to take Them down." Iggy said cheerfully, he pulled and invisible pen out and air-wrote as he said, "Take down baddies. Get antidote. Get the girl. Dramatic kiss scene. The end."

"You make it sound so easy." Shinichi said, but he couldn't help but laugh. Look at that, how had the kid managed to do that? Shinichi rolled his eyes, "It won't be as simple as that."

"Right, I forgot to add, 'Blow something up...' in the list..." Iggy said with a mischevious grin. Shinichi snorted and rolled his eyes as they walked down the street. He couldn't help but notice that his friend seemed slightly hesitant though, and Shinichi was smart enough to be able to deduce why.

Though he didn't say it.

* * *

Aoko had never been more embarassed in her life. She wasn't the type of person who just burst into tears and fled from rooms. Kaito...that idiot. Aoko sighed, looking out over the city with bored eyes. She had been here since the end of school, on the roof of the school.

"BaKaito." Aoko hissed, thinking of the stupid magician.

Why was she so upset over this anyways? Wasn't this just...typical Kaito? She should have suspected it was a prank, after all that was what the magician always did. It was the way he worked, kind of like how Hakuba had a hard time being late to things. Still, she felt as though he'd gone and punched a hole in her chest.

"The lady seems to be deep in thought." The whispered words caught her off guard, and Aoko found herself turning around to face the last person she ever expected to see on the rooftop with her. Her shock was so complete that she could hardly feel, "You would be...Nakamori-chan, ne?"

It was Kaitou Kid. The phantom thief that her father spent and endless amount of time hunting, and an even more endless amount of time obsessing over. The very criminal that had embarassed her father countless times over. Aoko felt her teeth snap together, and she grinded them as her fury was complete.

"What are YOU doing here?" Aoko said, for lack of anything else in the world to say. Something like a smirk quirked at the corner of the white clad thief's lips.

"I heard a damsel in distress." Kid said, bowing low. Were his eyes twinkling in a strangely familiar mischevious way? No, she was certainly imagining it. That would be the best bet. "I should mention the other person I ran into earlier...perhaps he is the real reason I am here."

"You ran into somebody?" Aoko asked, feeling like she wanted to rebel against the stupid thief in some way, but still intrigued by what he was saying. She had never expected Kid to be so...so charismatic before. Aoko shook her head, furious with herself. Really, of all the people in the world to be taken in by it shouldn't be this idiot thief.

Kid tipped his hat in her direction, his way of nodding perhaps. It was hard not to watch him as he stalked effortlessly acrossed the rooftop, as if he commanded this place as his own. There was a strangely intoxicating sense of confidence that seemed to seep from him. Aoko shook her head, scolding herself mentally.

"He seemed rather distressed." Kid said, tipping his hat so that she couldn't see his monocled face. Speaking of that face...it was vaguely familiar somehow. Aoko shook her head, feeling slightly dizzy. "Said that he did a lot of stupid things in his life...but never something so stupid as what he did earlier."

It sounded like he had regret in his tone, but perhaps he was just accidentally dropping into the character of whoever he was talking about. He tipped the brim of his hat up with his thumb, and regarded her as she thought. Her eyes widened. Surely he couldn't mean..."Kaito?"

"Was that his name? Kurabo or something like that right?" Kid asked, looking slightly bored. Aoko felt a flash of irritation at the thief.

"Kuroba." She snapped, "It's Kuroba, and he's a better magician than you'll ever be."

"Oh?" Kid said, tipping his head to one side and looking a little amused. "You really think so, Nakamori-chan?"

"I know so. Where was it that you saw him anyways?" Aoko said, deciding that at the moment she liked Kaito more than Kid anyways, so she might as well go see him. Besides, she had a feeling that what the thief had said was true, that Kaito was unhappy. She didn't want that.

"Oh...somewhere near the clock tower." Kid said. Aoko could feel him watching her as she ran for the door. She knew that he'd disappear, so really there wasn't any point in telling her father that he popped up at her school right?

_**

* * *

**_

Takagi sighed as he placed the files he had been tediously checking through in their place. It was way passed lunch, and he hadn't had any time alone with Satou since the interrupted moment in the break room. Takagi heaved another sigh, and stiffened as he heard footsteps.

"Takagi-kun?" Satou said, and Takagi could hardly believe the fact that she seemed to materialize out of nowhere at his mere thought of her. (Okay, so she walked down the stairs as he happened to be thinking about her...and Takagi happened to think about her a lot...never mind, just keep reading the love story thing)

"S-Satou-san!" Takagi said, rubbing the back of his head. "You surprised me, I was just putting these files away...are you getting more stuff on Mouri-san?"

"Yes." Satou said, breezing passed him. Takagi tried not to blush, thankful that his skin was darker than many of the people he knew. Not that Hattori boy's of course, but still it was darker than many of the people in the precinct. Not so easy to see blushing with dark skin.

As Takagi glanced up at the door he saw something that made his heart lurch ever so slightly. He tore up the stairs, panicking and running to catch the culprit before it could manage...the door clicked shut. There was a final sound to that shutting that made Takagi sweat a little.

"Oh no..." The young officer breathed. Satou was glancing up at him from her place down the stairs, and eyebrow raised. Takagi rubbed the back of his head a little nervously and pointed at the door, "You see...the lock is broken Satou-san...so..."

"Oh." Satou said, walking up the stairs. She jiggled the handle and frowned, "You're right...that's not very good. We've got work to do."

_Not to mention the fact that we're both now locked in this room._ Takagi thought with a nervous laugh. Satou was looking at the doorknob a little curiously. That look made Takagi feel ever so slightly nervous. He became even more nervous as she drew her revolver and pointed it at the handle.

"W-wait a minute, Satou-san!" Takagi said, pushing the gun to the side. "We can always wait for somebody to come along...we can always read through the files up here and wait until we hear somebody on the other side."

"That's a good idea." Satou said, cheerfully replacing her gun in it's holster. She smiled at him, and it made Takagi feel a little bit dizzy that smile. "Mmm...and the bullets could ricochet off of the handle and hurt one of us. So I think that you're idea is better, Takagi-kun."

_Oh Kami..._Takagi thought, blushing furiously.

* * *

Heiji was panting by the time he'd run to the park. The thing was...he hadn't exactly arranged which bench she would be sitting at. It would make sense if she was sitting somewhere that would be facing the sunset, a place with a good view. Which would have been easy for a local detective to figure out.

Erm, Heiji wasn't exactly from Tokyo though.

The detective held the gift behind his back, running through the park as he checked what felt like a million benches. He almost ran right passed Kazuha, and had to slam on the breaks and catch himself from falling down. (All this was done while making sure he didn't jostle the gift he had gotten for Kazuha very much...)

A sheepish smile found it's way acrossed his face, and she smiled back. He wondered if she was unhappy because he left her alone practically all day...he hadn't really thought about that. The detective thought of facepalming himself, but the hand he wasn't waving with was occupied at the moment.

"Found ya!" Heiji said with a grin, and then added, a little teasingly, "Ahou, you could have answered that text I sent you asking which bench you were sitting at with more than the word guess. Sheesh..."

"What? I thought you like mysteries?" Kazuha said, sticking her tongue at him. Heiji rolled his eyes, honestly, that woman. She smiled at him, looking amused. "You forgot about what day it was today, didn't you?"

"Wh-what? No, I've gotta gift for ya right here!" Heiji said, gesturing over his shoulder, indicating that he had it behind his back. He gave her a mischevious grin. "I bet ya can't guess what I got ya! Ya wouldn't ever figure it out in a million years...hmmm...I hope your parents don't mind that I got it for ya...I didn't think about that."

Heiji laughed inwardly. Oh well, hopefully they'd get over it. This was a special gift after all.

For a friend...right?

"Heiji..." Kazuha complained, but there was laughter in her eyes. "Is it a cookie?"

"Nope." Heiji said with a grin.

"Some jewelry?" Kazuha said, tipping her head to one side.

"Noooope." Heiji said, tsking her with his free finger. He knew she wouldn't guess, he hadn't even considered something like this as a gift until he saw it in the door. So it wasn't something you usually gave on White Day...Heiji thought that he should get props for being slightly creative about it.

Her gaze flattened slightly, "It's not something perverted is it?"

"Oi, oi!" Heiji said, blushing so badly that it was obvious even on his dark skin. "What kinda guy do ya think I am? That's not it, ahou! Are ya done guessin'?"

Kazuha paused, tapping her chin with her finger. Heiji was grinning like mad, knowing that even Kudou would have never been able to guess what he had. (Okay, Kudou could probably figure it out, but that's him...) She sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. She looked amused though as she said, "I give up Heiji, what is it?"

Heiji stepped up so that he was closer to her, putting his other hand behind his back so that he could place the gift in the palm of that one. It took a moment to get it carefully adjusted, and he pulled his hand so that it was right in front of both of their faces. With a grin he unfurled his fingers revealing...

A snow colored chipmunk.

"It's rare, I guess..." Heiji explained, giving her a bright smile as the small rodent sniffed at her fingers. She was staring at it with a look of something like astonishment and Heiji found himself blushing furiously. "The person who sold it to me said it's called an albino...or somethin' like that."

"Heiji..." Kazuha breathed, scooping the small thing into her hands. It chittered at her and she giggled, "You got me...something alive? That's so sweet."

"Aw, well..." Heiji rubbed the back of his head in embarassment. "I had ta be kinda careful with him. He's real friendly, the lady said, and he's trained to stay on your shoulder apparently. Still, I didn't want someone ta knock him off of me or somethin' when I was...Oi-Oi!"

He broke off as Kazuha threw her arms around him. The chipmunk clambered from her hand onto her head, and blinked curiously down at the blushing Osakan. Heiji coughed, not quite knowing how to react to this at all. He sighed, and wrapped his arms around her in a return hug.

"Heiji..." Kazuha murmured into his shoulder. Heiji blinked, feeling like his face was going to explode or something. Sheesh, it was like he'd gotten sunburned...

She leaned forward and kissed him, right on the corner of his mouth. Heiji's eyes stretched wide with surprise as the girl he'd grown up with calmly stepped away, plucked her chipmunk from on top of her head, and began to tickle it. "I think I'll name him Satoshi. Toshi-kun for a nickname..."

She was blabbering because she was nervous. He didn't know what to do. He was just standing there like the idiot he sometimes was, blinking with in shock.

"Oh?" Kazuha said, sounding embarassed and nervous. She was looking at her watch and let out a quick laugh, "Is it that time already? I should get back to the agency and help Ran-chan with dinner...she'll be needing it you know. Heiji I'll see you later then, alright?"

She turned to go, and Heiji blinked after her a little stupidly for a moment.

_Ahou, MOVE!_ He screamed at himself inwardly, snapping himself out of his stupor. He ran over to her, having absolutely no idea what he was going to do in the first place. But then, that's what made things more exciting in the first place right? He quickly over took her, and turned around. Kazuha stumbled to a stop, and before she could say anything...

He kissed her.

Oh Kami, he kissed her. Actually kissed her, in a way that he wouldn't have expected himself to ever kiss Kazuha before. He pulled away after what seemed like hours, and yet what must have been about three heartbeats instead. He blanched at her, appalled at his little moment before rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Ya don't think Ran-san can wait a bit?"

"I think she could..." Kazuha said slowly, and with a smile that was completely infectious.

_**

* * *

**_

There was a time, when they had been young, that they had gotten into a fight. Shinichi honestly couldn't remember the reason behind it now. All he remembered was that it was the longest fight he'd ever been in with Ran in his entire life. They had been walking home together, despite their argument, and basically every glance was recieved with a glance away and a huff.

After all, they were both two of the most stubborn people in Beika.

It was on this particular trip home that ended their fight. It was strange that Shinichi couldn't remember what the argument had been about, but the way they made up was so clear in his mind. Even now, as he closed his eyes and thought back to that day. They had been walking along the bank of the river when...

_"Ama~zi~ing grace...ho~ow sweet...the sound..."_ The English words had drifted to them both. They had stopped, and stood staring in the direction of a woman they would unknowingly meet later. A soprano voice singing a song that had touched both of their hearts. They made up without even saying the words.

They were just forgiven.

Shinichi sat with his back pressed to the couch, waiting for Ran to step out of the kitchen. He knew she'd see it right away, it was sitting in the middle of the table and everything had been cleared off. Now it was just a waiting game. The shrunken detective fumbled with his sleeves.

Ran entered the room, and he froze, his eyes peeping over the edge of the couch. She stopped, her head tipped to one side as she looked at the small package on the table. It had taken Shinichi a long time to get this gift, he'd started working on it a long time ago in fact. Of course it required a bit of Agasa's help...

She lifted the package and opened it up. Shinichi watched as she blinked, did she like it? It was a necklace, silver and delicate, with a clock in it's face. It was odd, and Shinichi knew that, but that wasn't the only thing the pendant had. A note was beneath the necklace, and as she read the words he could hear himself saying them as he wrote them down.

_**There will be a day, I swear it, that I will have all the time in the world for you. For now, I will just have to give you this song, and hope that when you'll hear it your heart will remember that one time...**_

She opened the pendant, and the chimes of the song they both remembered from that day chimed through the air. She was crying again, but Shinichi had the feeling that it was for something other than sadness that tears leaked down her face. She put the necklace around her neck, touching her fingers to it.

Shinichi wished he could hug her, but for now this was the best he could do.

* * *

Aoko found him sitting with his back pressed against the fountain. It bubbled behind him, catching the rays of dying sunlight and throwing beautiful patterns around the square. Aoko sighed to herself. He really did look like the picture of depression at the moment, but then that was Kaito. He had always been a bit good at acting.

"BaKaito." She said, making him flinch and turn to look at her. She was surprised by the amount of regret that was in his blue eyes. She put her hands on her hips, "You don't have to be sad anymore, I'm not angry with you alright?"

"But I hurt you." He said, his voice raw with something like pain. Aoko blinked in surprise and found herself sitting next to her childhood friend. He was looking at her with such a sad look in his blue eyes, "I'm sorry...it was really stupid..."

It was a rare thing that Kaito ever apologized for a prank, rarer still that it was heart felt. She'd never seen her friend look so miserable before. She hit him upside the head with her bag, scowling at him rather nicely. "Baka, it's what everyone would expect from you anyways, ne?"

"You don't have to be violent about it." Kaito exclaimed, rubbing his hands through his wild hair. He leaned back, looking up at the tower with something like a nostalgic smirk on his face. She wondered what he could possibly be remembering about it. That was better though, she had the old Kaito back.

"I was the stupid one, for pouting like that." Aoko replied, nudging him with her foot. "Don't feel bad, I shouldn't have taken it so personally."

"Why DID you take it personally?" Kaito asked, genuine curiousity reflected in the blue of his eyes. Aoko blushed, and glanced away sharply. That wasn't a matter she needed to discuss with him right? She hardly knew the reason herself. So she shrugged her shoulders.

It was quiet for a moment as they both stared in opposite directions. Her, with a blush on her face, and he with a strange look on his features. After a moment he fumbled through his pockets, catching her off guard with his sudden motions. He was tossing strange objects of every variety everywhere. They landed on the ground with interesting little noises.

"Aha!" The magician said triumphantly, revealing a small box. Aoko narrowed her eyes at him as he gave her a genuine smile, pulling a white rose from his sleeve. "For the lovely lady..."

He bowed as he said this, and she rolled her eyes at him. She opened the case, and blinked in surprise. It was a bracelet, with several silver charms on them. A diamond, a spade, a club, and...a heart. All centered around cards, so she could think of her magician everytime she looked at it no doubt. Kaito picked it up and put it around her wrist. He kissed her fingers like a gentlemen, lifting his blue eyes to her's.

"Kaito...what is this?" She said, pulling her hadn away and blushing. Kaito twirled the rose under her nose, and smiled at her. That smile that she was growing to like more everytime she saw it.

"It's what I should have given you the first time, ne?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at her. "It's a little too early for that other stuff-OW!"

She had smacked him with her bookbag again, and as she turned away she smiled softly to herself. She hoped he wouldn't see that, he was supposed to think she was irritated by that last comment after all. Still, she loved the gift. It would be hers, her precious gift from her precious magician.

_**

* * *

**_

Takagi watched as the streetlights turned on outside. This was beginning to look bad. By now most of the officers would have gone home. Which meant they were probably stuck in here for the night. Takagi glanced at his pack against the wall, remembering his gift to Satou earlier.

It was possible that...well...

A blush lit his face as Satou stepped up behind him. She sighed, rolling her shoulders. "It seems as though we aren't going to get out of here tonight, Takagi-kun. Hmmm? Why are you looking at your bag like that? Do you have a cellphone in it that you'd forgotten about or something?"

"W-wait!" Takagi stammered out, but the woman was already opening the bag. She blinked in surprise, and pulled some boxes out. Takagi felt his face flush with embarassment as she blinked at them. "Th-those..."

"This looks like a romantic lunch." Satou said, teasingly glancing at the poor man who stood feeling slightly idiotic and embarassed. She smiled at him, probably noticing how tense he was and attempting to put him at ease. "Were you were planning on giving lunch to some girl for White Day, Takagi-kun? Who is it?"

"We-well..." Takagi laughed as he pulled the boxes from her grasp. It had taken a long time of slaving over a stove to get this to turn out, and a little help from Ran as well. The girl had been nice enough to offer him some recipes. It had taken a few hours, but he had come up with the simple dish that he had hoped to share with...

Well, with the very officer he happened to be locked in a room with. Takagi didn't know whether he was going to die of embarassment or not as she observed how nicely he'd made them. But at least she seemed to think it looked good, that meant that she liked it right?

"Takagi-kun? Are you alright?" Satou said, catching the young man off guard by placing her hand on his forehead. Takagi blushed furiously, but stood very still as she pressed her other hand against her own forehead. "You don't seem to be running a fever or anything...but you're awfully red in the face."

Takagi blushed further, if that was even possible.

"W-well you see...S-Satou-san." Takagi coughed politely into his hand, stepping back. "I actually made that lunch as a gift for you...but it seemed there was never time to give it to you?"

"A gift...for me?" Satou said, smiling at him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Takagi felt like he was about ready to melt into a puddle of mush on the floor. His heart was racing a million miles a minute. She sat down, breaking apart the chopsticks he had packed. "Then let's not let it go to waste."

"Right!" Takagi said, sitting down in front of her cross-legged.

So maybe being locked in this room for a night wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

Shiho sighed, it was late in the night already. She was getting tired of the doorbell ringing that way over and over. It was a surprising thing that Hakase hadn't been woken, but then she suspected that the man would wake up in surprise the next morning if a train ran through his home in the middle of the night.

"Coming, coming." The shrunken girl murmured, sliding off of her computer chair. She had been working nonstop, since she had been sure that Iggy would be alright, to get the antidote finished. She felt that she was nearing a breakthrough, and it had something to do with Iggy actually.

His metabolism had made her think of something, but she wasn't sure if it was working yet.

He was actually the other reason she was staying home so much lately. She couldn't bring herself to face the final victim of her poison. She would never admit it to herself, even if she knew it somewhere deep down in her heart, but she was afraid of how he would treat her after that.

Would he reject her? It seemed the most likely scenario after all.

Shiho sighed as the doorbell was suddenly pressed, and then the person didn't let their finger off of it. They were holding it down and it was beginning to make an incredibly irritating noise. She went to the door and wrenched it open to give whoever was standing on the other side the biggest death-glare she could manage.

She never expected that the person would be unable to see that death-glare. "Iggy-kun?" She said, surprised and shocked. He grinned at her momentarily, before shoving a box in her hand. After that he snapped his wings open and took off. Just like that. Shiho would have thought he hadn't even been there in the first place if it hadn't been for whatever she was holding.

Shiho walked inside the house, and glanced at the top. It had an envelope, with writing that she didn't recognize as either Kudou's or Ran's. She had the distinct feeling Iggy had written those words himself, and they were surprisingly neat considering he wouldn't be able to see whatever was on the paper.

_**So basically I got you this...for White Day. Really, it seems like it's just some hype for card companies and candy companies to get stuff if you ask me. I mean...really. Anyways, yeah, this is for you. Happy White Day or whatever...**_

_**Oh, and Shiho...**_

_**You can't run from fate forever. Just saying.**_

She blinked, a little surprised, and opened the box. It was a cake, covered in white frosting with strawberries decorating the top. Shiho stared at it for a moment, remembering what time it was and feeling how warm that cake was. He must have been working on this since he got home from school.

With a sigh she retreated into her room with her cake. Chances were that if she left it out Hakase would eat it all.

_**

* * *

**_

_**PHEW! It's DONE! -gasps for air-**_

_**Okay, so this is officially my most favorite chapter EVER :3**_

_**I love it, so much. I had a ton of fun writing it, and I just LURVE the moments that I'm proud to say came from my little head. -cackles-**_

_**My favorite White Day Tale, as I dubbed them, was definitely the KaitoAoko one...**_

_**Though the HeiKaz one trumped the others with it's ending. I LOVED that one the best...**_

_**And yes, I purposely didn't do very much of Iggy in this chapter. I wanted the fact that he got a gift for Ai in the end to be a surprise, and her's was short and sweet because I felt that was the best way to do those two. :3**_

_**NOTE: For those of you who haven't seen it, the Amazing Grace thing is actually a reference to the DC movie, Full Score of Fear, one of my favorites. **_

_**Reviews are adored :3**_


	26. The Vanishing Gem

_Disclaimer:_

_I don't own it. (Wish I did, but I don't...)_

_**Just so you all know...**_

_**I've finally got down everything I want to do with the finale, so that's just around the corner. Yay and nay, ne? Since...you know, that means this'll be over. -sobsob-**_

_**Em Phantom- I'm glad they bring smiles. I'd be sad if they made somebody unhappy. I know, I thought that since the first was so dark...and I REALLY wanted to do that White Day one (I was afraid I wasn't going to get to fit it in, silly me!) so I thought that was the perfect place to toss it in. Yeah, ShinRan fluff always has a bit of bittersweetness to it, since you know...he either has to run away, or he can't tell her that he's right there. -pats Shinichi- Lawl, they weren't supposed to kiss actually, it's just what my fingers made Heiji do. Sometimes it's like the characters control me or something. -.-u How creepy... Yeah, I LOVED that part as well. I almost didn't put it in, but then I thought, what the hey, I found it funny I bet they will too. :3**_

_**Elena Forest- You really think it was well put together? That makes me feel so happy! Goodness, I'm grinning like a moron right now. -keroughs- **_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- Teehee, Scotch. I love all of my villians more than I ever should. It's probably because, before I make OC's, I write out intense background stories for them. (Most of the time I'm the only one who even looks at these, or even knows of their existence but it helps me get the character down better) Gin is easy to plot against, he's creepy. X3 Actually...you know, to be honest I'd be too afraid to plot against him I think. I'd just quietly follow after him and NEVER mess up. -.-u That's suggesting I'd be in the BO...good lord me...-coughs- Oh, and don't worry, Max'll get over it eventually. :3 Lawl, the BaKaito joke isn't mine, but Gosho's. It's actually in the MK manga, along with Ahoko as Aoko's unfortunate nickname. :3 Love scenes. -sighs- I'm glad you enjoyed them, I had a wonderful time writing them all out. And thank you, I appreciate the congrats. I've never written a fanfiction this long before. :3 **_

_**

* * *

**_

_Chapter Twenty-six- The Vanishing Gem_

I was walking home. There wasn't any school today, so after breakfast I had invited Gazzy over for the day. Kogoro probably wouldn't appreciate me dropping by with him, but I could have honestly cared less. All the rest of the Flock was going somewhere, and I didn't want to leave Gazzy all by himself or something.

Oh, in case you were curious, Angel's room apparently was filled to the brim with a bunch of gifts from White Day. Though a lot of them, according to Dylan, happen to have the names of different girls on them. That's the reason they all had to leave, Max was making her give all of the stuff to their rightful recipients. After all, she did get a few gifts that were actually addressed to her.

I opened the door and gestured inside, "Welcome to our humble abode." I said, making sure to keep my voice low. Kogoro was still asleep, I could hear him snoring, and I was almost positive Shinichi was as well. "Just keep quiet, kay? Shinichi isn't a morning person at ALL..."

"That kind of just makes me want to wake him up." Gazzy said wickedly. I snorted at the mere thought. Gazzy was walking around the room as I set the back pack he had brought with him on the table. "So is this where that famous detective lives?"

"Yeah, in a sense." I snorted and gestured at the closed doorway. "The guy who's snoring isn't actually the one who does the deduction, though he probably doesn't even realize that. Shinichi just knocks him out with his tranquilizer wrist-watch deal and changes his voice to sound like him."

"So what's going to happen to him when you guys get back to normal?" Gazzy asked, sounding slightly concerned. "Won't they think he's a fraud or something?"

"I have no idea what Shinichi's got in mind." I said, tipping the contents of the bag out. I grinned wickedly as my fingers stroked the wires and stuff. It had been a long time since I'd gotten to mess with stuff like this. I twirled the wires about expertly as Gazzy sat down next to me on the couch. "Alright, so massive stinkbomb for the bathroom at school..."

"Maybe it should spit out some goop too...but would it be too hot if it did that? We don't want somebody to get burned or something." Gazzy said, helping me adjust the wires. I frowned, tapping my fingers against the tabletop. Gazzy seemed to brighten a bit, "What about soy sauce?"

"That would make a huge mess." I said with an oh-so-evil smirk. "Alright, so we need to get some soy sauce. I don't think Ran would appreciate me raiding the kitchen."

"Soy sauce, check. What'll we use for the stink?" Gazzy asked, pulling three bags out of the pile. "We've got...rotten eggs, a class favorite, milk that's been sitting in our fridge for WAY too long, and...erm...I'm not sure what this is anymore but it smells really bad."

"Let's use it ALL!" I cackled, "The stench will be so powerful they'll have to close the school..."

"You're really bored there, aren't you?" Gazzy said, sounding a little amused. I pinched my nose as he quickly dumped the contents into the same bag and sealed them all up. Still, even after that I felt my eyes water from the left over smell. "It must kinda suck, having to take such a low level of class."

"I never thought I'd actually want to have homework that was hard." I said, "But it's so...boring. I can't even imagine how that other guy handles it. He's a genius even at his regular level..."

"Morning..." Shinichi said, making me jump a bit in surprise. I heard as he shuffled by us, and sniffed the air before clapping his hands, probably over his nose. "What is that...that SMELL?"

"A mixture of very rotten objects." I replied, "It's not near as bad as what Gazzy here can produce sometimes. Hey, Gaz, mind handing me that wire over there? This things kinda ticking right now and It'd be really bad if it went off right here."

"What are you...doing?" Shinichi said as I quickly fastened the wires together.

"Just a private project." Gazzy said, mischief clear in his tone. Shinichi came to stand near my shoulder and Gazzy handed me another clamp. "Iggy's bored at your school, so we're making something that'll entertain him for a little bit. Iggy, the timer is flashing at you..."

"Got it." I said, snipping one wire and reconnecting another.

"Is that a bomb?" Shinichi said, sounding as if he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"In a sense, though it's won't have any gunpowder in this one. It's designed to just release smell, so basically it's a stink bomb." Gazzy said, I could hear the grin in his voice as I held a hand out for the baggy he'd brought of mixed stank. I pushed it into one of the cylinder's that I'd managed to obtain. (Not hard, it's a Pringles can in case you're super curious...)

"You're creepily good at that Iggy-kun." Shinichi stated when I tapped everything together. I held it up and grinned, "How in the world did you even learn to make something like that? It's borderline illegal..."

"As long as it doesn't really explode then it's not truly illegal. No gunpowder involved." I said, I frowned narrowing my eyes a little bit. "Or wait...maybe it is illegal...I don't know. Eh, it won't hurt anybody so it shouldn't be much of a problem, ne? You disapprove, I can tell."

"I don't think the soy sauce idea will work." Gazzy said, I nodded in his direction.

"You shouldn't...do stuff like this. It's considered vandalism." Shinichi said, I rolled my eyes.

"I don't mind, go ahead and turn me in when I'm done with it. I'll just get detention..." I paused, fiddling with something else. It beeped and I quickly replaced what I'd taken out. Shinichi had tensed up next to me when the beep had gone off. I blinked as my fingers traced along the wires, "Calm down. I'll be glad to take the fall for it. I'm just very bored."

"Iggy-kun..." Shinichi protested.

"Mmm, if he's unhappy about this I'm guessing he doesn't know about Big Boy." Gazzy said slowly. I felt Shinichi's reaction in the way that he spun around to face Gazzy. I snickered to myself.

"Big Boy?" He choked.

"Ah, by far the best project we've ever done." I sighed, remembering the lovely sounds of explosion. I frowned slightly, "It's just too bad we ended up taking out that cabin with it...it's definitely the biggest thing we've ever made. But Gaz, guess what? I think I know a way to make it even bigger..."

"Not here." Shinichi said flatly, "You can do that when I'm not around to hear about it."

"You're a party pooper." I said, sticking my tongue out at him. He snatched the bomb away from me after I'd fitted the final wire and I let out a sharp sound of protest. "Hey, give that back!"

"Nope." Shinichi said, "You haven't set it yet, and I'm not going to let you commit a crime. Petty or not. You're old enough to know any better, and if you, as a highschooler, did something like this you'd get your butt tossed into jail. So I'm confiscating this on behalf of you, and the rest of Teitan elementary."

"You suck." I said, tossing a pillow in his direction. I obviously failed at hitting him because he only laughed at me. Annoying detective. I scowled at him and grabbed for the remote. At least we could listen to some television or something. Before I could do that though, Kogoro snatched it from my hand. When had he come in here?

"Hello." Gazzy said, "You're Mouri-san right?"

"Yeah, what're ya doing here you brat?" Kogoro growled. Gazzy snorted with laughter as Kogoro turned on the television and began his own little private mantra, "Yoko! Yoko! Yoko!"

"I like him, he's funny." Gazzy said, sounding amused.

"That's one way to put it I guess." Shinichi replied with a chuckle. Kogoro hurrumphed, drawing his attention from his precious idol to pay attention to the annoying children that were gathered in the room with him. I gave him a wide grin, Shinichi let out a laugh that I can only describe as a Conan-laugh, and Gazzy put his arm around my neck.

"Aren't you a little old to be hanging around a kid his age?" Kogoro finally asked.

"He's only a few years older than me..." Gazzy said, probably automatically. The boy let out a nervous laugh and Shinichi mumbled something under his breath. "Erm, sorry, what I meant was that I'm only a few years older than him. I don't see what's so bad about it..."

"Why don'tchya get kids your own age as friends?" Kogoro growled, "Speaking of which, where is that Osakan? Isn't he here with his girlfriend or something?"

"They probably went wherever Ran-neechan went this morning." I said, "That's why there isn't breakfast for you and Conan-niichan I guess."

After saying as much Kogoro whined and got out of his chair to wander into the kitchen. I would have offered to cook, but I kind of felt that the guy needed to suffer a little bit. I mean, honestly, it's not too hard to get yourself a bowl of cereal. That's what Shinichi was doing, I think.

"Was Ran-neechan not even here by the time you got up?" Shinichi asked. I shook my head and I heard him pause in pouring his cereal. "That's strange, don't you get up at like five to go to their house Iggy-kun?"

"I guess." I shrugged my shoulders. Shinichi was still a little paranoid from the other day, but it didn't feel as though anything was off since the group had left. "Don't worry, if the girls are out then they're probably with Heiji-niichan. He'll be able to keep an eye on them, ne?"

"Is Heiji the guy I met at the hospital the other day? The one that's really dark skinned?" Gazzy asked curiously. I nodded as I began to scoure the room for any place Shinichi could have hidden my bomb. "Isn't he a detective like your friend?"

"Yes." Shinichi replied, "He lives in Osaka and is here visiting. Though if you ask me he's starting to over stay his welcome a bit. I wonder if that guy's parents even kow he's here at the moment."

"True, the last time he came it didn't seem as if anyone even knew he was here." I said, fiddling with something. "Didn't Kazuha-chan have to come and pick him up or something? I forget...the last time he was here Fang was with him of course. I wonder where he's gone to now."

"Probably left Japan, if he wants to avoid that girl." Shinichi replied calmly. I guess that made some sense, but I felt a twinge of frustration towards Fang because of it.

"We only saw him for a little bit. He didn't really even talk to us." Gazzy said slowly, sounding slightly disappointed. "I think that's why Max has been so quiet lately...not just because she's mad at you. I think she's upset because Fang just up and left again without even really talking with her."

"Baka." I spat, "I oughta kick him in the head, or at least punch him in the jaw again."

"You punched him in the jaw?" Gazzy said, sounding surprised. "Don't tell Max about that...she probably won't be happy if she finds out that you two were fighting with each other."

"It was a bit one-sided, if Iggy-kun told the story correctly." Shinichi said, sounding vaguely amused. "It seems that Fang-kun wasn't exactly in the mood to get in a fight with our good friend over here in the corner. Iggy-kun, it's not in there, it wouldn't be able to fit."

I shut the drawer I had opened and scowled in his direction. So he knew that I was looking for my bomb and was just going to watch me fail in finding it. It's no fair having a detective hide your stuff. For one thing, I'm blind. For another, the guy knows all the places that most people wouldn't look.

The door opened behind us and I heard Kogoro let out a yell of joy. Apparently Ran was home, and by the smell of things she had some food with her. Kogoro practically threw me in the air to get me out of his way as he dove for food. "Oh, Gazzy-kun you're here. I didn't realize you were visiting today."

"I came over with Iggy after he cooked us some supper." Gazzy explained, walking over to where Ran was. Hattori and Kazuha were there too, though they were standing closer to each other than usual. I could feel Shinichi's slight surprise and as Kazuha and Ran headed to the kitchen to set up whatever they brought Hattori stayed behind.

"I'm guessing things went well last night." Shinichi said, sounding slightly bored.

"Yeah, ya could say that." Hattori said vaguely, I could tell that he was trying not to smile just by the tone in his voice. He knelt down so that he was closer to our level and added, "Ran-san is in a much better mood today than she's been in awhile. Whatever you gave her really lifted her spirits Kudou."

"That's good." Shinichi said, but I could tell he was happier about that than he was letting on. I rolled my eyes.

"You two think you're really suave, don't you?" I said flatly. Gazzy snorted with laughter at what must have been potent looks from both of them as I added sweetly, "Just don't forget what Kazuha-chan said the other day. You two are destined for each other."

"That is NOT funny." Both of the detectives growled at me.

"Really? I thought it was hilarious." I said with a smirk. I winced as Shinichi kicked me in the shin and Hattori clocked me upside the head. "Okay, OW! Sheesh you guys, can't you take a joke? You didn't attack her when she brought it up at dinner the other day..."

"Iggy-kun, I was wondering if I could talk with you for a moment." Ran said, making me blink and cease my small Iggy's-in-pain dance. I wandered over to her and felt her push a small pamphlet in my hands. I blinked as she traced out the Kanji for me using my fingers. It was how she was teaching me to read. "You said the other day that you wanted to help me cook, so I thought that this would be fun for us to do."

"A cooking competition?" Hattori said, reading over my shoulder. "This brat can cook?"

I glared over my shoulder.

"Iggy's the best cook I know!" Gazzy said cheerfully. "I bet you could really do well. What's that say? Something about professionals...professional chefs will be there? That's neat!"

"We'll both be part of a team." Ran said, "My job will be to serve the judges and help Iggy-kun to make the food presentable and fancy. His job will be to cook it. If we win we get some cooking utensils. How about it Iggy-kun? It's this afternoon, and they say that you can sign up at the door."

"That'd be awesome Ran-neechan!" I said, feeling a little excited. This would be a great way to spend the day for sure. I blinked, "Will Gazzy be able to come as well?"

"Anyone that wants to come can come along if they want." Ran said, "Kazuha-chan, would you like to come?"

"Um...well actually Heiji was going to take me somewhere interesting today." Kazuha said. Hattori chuckled a little, "At least that's what he said last night. Oh, I'm going to go see if Toshi-kun is awake yet."

"Toshi-kun?" I said blankly.

"He's what Heiji got me for White Day...Oh Ran-chan! You haven't gotten to meet him yet! Come with me real quick!" Kazuha said, and she dragged Ran away. I heard Shinichi tease Hattori about staring off in their direction. He didn't really reply, just coughed to cover his embarassment.

"I got her an albino chipmunk." Hattori finally explained, when little squeals of 'kawaii' came leaking from the door. Shinichi chuckled in something close to amusement and I only blinked.

"How in the world did you get her one of those?" I asked, and sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "I guess that kinda trumps me doesn't it? All I did was bake a cake..."

"Oh?" Shinichi and Hattori said at the same time. I flushed with embarassment as Gazzy leaned a little closer to me.

"What was this about baking a cake?" Gazzy said teasingly. I backed away, holding my hands in front of me and trying not to look embarassed. I attempted to seem a bit irritated, but somehow I couldn't pull it off and ended up rubbing the back of my head sheepishly as they all laughed at me instead.

"Oh, how cute, he rides on your shoulder." Ran said as the two girls walked into the room. "Iggy-kun, if you'll go get your shoes on we can probably head out now. Conan-kun, do you want to come with us?"

"No, I think I'll stay here." Shinichi said, "Thanks anyways, Ran-neechan."

* * *

It was quite busy where we were, this much was completely obvious to me. A lot of people were talking, and Ran had to actually pick me up because she was afraid I'd get trampled. Apparently this little competition was really popular. We finally got to the sign-in desk, without much incident, and made it to our designated kitchen.

I was memorizing where everything was and Ran was getting me a stool when I heard a quick, "Well if it isn't the boy who was in the hospital. You're Max-san's little friend, ne?" I blinked, knowing by the sound of the voice that it was the boy who had called himself Kaito.

"Oh, Kaito-kun." Ran said, sounding surprised. "Are you here to compete as well?"

"Nah, I don't cook." Kaito said with a laugh. "I just came because it sounded interesting. This new mall is really interesting."

"Yes, it certainly is interesting." A very calm voice said. I noticed that Kaito seemed to stiffen ever so slightly as the person stepped closer to us. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Saguru Hakuba...and you are Mouri Ran yes? Your father has been seen on the Kid heists sometimes."

"Oh, yes." Ran said, "And this over here is little Iggy-kun. He says that he enjoys cooking so I signed us up as a team to work here."

"So why are you here Hakuba?" Kaito asked cheerfully. "Are you interested in the cooking styles of all of these people here as well?"

"You know the reason I'm here." Hakuba stated calmly. Turning back to Ran and I he said, "There is a rumor going around that Kid sent out a notice that he was going to come here and steal the priceless jewel they have in the fountain here. I came now to catch him in the act of staking it out."

"How would I have known that was the reason you were coming here?" Kaito asked, sounding thoroughly lost now.

"Ne, isn't it odd to put a jewel in a fountain at a mall?" I asked. Really, the person was just asking for somebody to take it if it was somewhere like this. "You'd think that would be the sort of thing that was just going to attract thieves, not just ones that are famous or whatever."

"That would be the Suzuki Corporation." Hakuba said, sounding slightly irritated. "Don't get me wrong, there are decent people among their faces. I just wish they would learn from their mistakes and stop blatantly showing off the rare gems they get in public places such as this."

"Suzuki? Like Sonoko-neechan?" I asked.

"Yeah..." Ran said, "She should actually be here somewhere today. Unless Makoto-kun came and took her someplace. She said that he might have been coming for a visit today."

"What kind of jewel is on display anyways?" I asked, I couldn't help it...I was slightly curious.

"Why don't you ask Kuroba? I'm sure he knows all about it...being Kid." Hakuba said.

"Not this again..." Kaito sighed as though this were an old debate between the two. I arched an eyebrow, slightly amused. What a great friendship they must have. "How many times do I have to tell you, Hakuba, I'm not the Phantom Thief."

"Sorry, I got a little lost in the crowd." Gazzy said, sounding a little breathless as he squeezed in to stand next to our booth. "You guys are talking about Kid-sama right? He's really cool! I want to be like him when I grow up!"

"You want to be a criminal?" Hakuba said, "That's not the kind of person one should idolize. There are far superior examples to follow, and better ways to use cunning than being a petty thief. Take detective work for example, or being a police officer. These are honorable ways to use your head."

"Yeah, but Kid always beats those people." Gazzy said. I snorted with laughter at that. I guess he had a point, the thief apparently hadn't been captured at all. "Kid-sama is a lot cooler than somebody who does detective work...erm, no offense to anyone who does detective work of course."

"Still, modeling yourself up to be a thief is something one shouldn't do." Hakuba said, obviously trying to reason with Gazzy. I don't think he was going to be hearing any of it though. I wondered if Max knew about his little idolism with the thief? I'd have to ask Shinichi more about him since Gazz seemed to like him so much.

"Did you know he can mimic other voices perfectly?" Gazzy asked me, sounding excited. "Just like me! That's so cool!"

"You can mimic voices?" Kaito asked, sounding slightly amused. "That could be handy if you wanted to become a voice actor in the future. Your possibilities would be nearly endless. I bet you'd be able to land parts really easily."

"Yeah, but that's not as EXCITING as being a thief." Gazzy said, and I could practically hear his grin. I wished Shinichi had tagged along, just so he could have a mini panic attack over this. With a bit of mischief Gazzy said, "Then there's the fact that I'm almost impossible to catch..."

"Oi, oi, don't let Max hear you saying that." I murmured, shaking my head from side to side. It seemed that everyone gathered it was impossible to change Gazzy's mind on this matter. His idol was Kid, and there was nothing any of us could do about it. Hakuba said that he should be going, and left.

"He thinks he's being sneaky." Kaito whispered, leaning over the booth, "He's going into the crowd to stare after me all day. Hoping that I'll somehow prove that I'm Kid, which, in case you were curious, I'm NOT."

This last words seemed to be thrown, probably in the direction of wherever Hakuba thought he was hiding. I chuckled to myself, but part of me had to wonder how Kaito could tell where he was hiding. Though Ran didn't seem bothered, so perhaps the detective just wasn't all that great at concealing himself or something.

Oh great, that made me realize that I was beginning to be just as cynical as Shinichi.

Okay, so it's not cynicism really, so much as this strange ability to hold everyone in a suspicious light...wait...

Never mind, I'm just confusing myself.

"Aoko-chan is over there, I think she's looking for you." Ran said suddenly.

"Kaito, there you are!" Aoko said. She sounded slightly out of breath and more than slightly irritated. "Oh...Ran-chan, hello. And Iggy-kun as well! I'm glad to see that you're feeling better...and aren't you Max-chan's little brother...Gazzy?"

"Yeah, sorta." Gazzy said with a laugh. There was a pause and he asked slowly, "Is there going to really be a heist here? What kind of gem is Kid stealing?"

"The Vanishing Gem." Aoko said, then seemed slightly embarassed. "I'm sorry, Tou-san said something about it this morning. Apparently it's usually blue, unless the sunlight hits it. Then all the color seems to bleed out and it becomes clear. It's supposed to be very old, and very rare."

"It's massive..." Ran commented. I huffed irritably and Ran seemed a little embarassed. She grabbed my hands and positioned them about seven inches apart, "That's how wide it is, Iggy-kun."

"And it's attached to that fountain." Aoko said, I could hear a slight smirk in her voice as she added. "If Kid thinks he's taking that one he's got another thing coming. How can he get it off without picking up the entire cat statue?"

"Cat statue?" I said, beginning to hate how behind in this conversation I was.

"It's a statue that's on the very top of the fountain." Gazzy explained to me, "Looks like it's made out of bronze or something. It's got the gem in the very center of it's forehead. The statue itself must be about as tall as you right now, Iggy-kun. It's kind of weird for a mall if you ask me. The cat's on the very top, but no water touches it at all. Maybe because cats don't like water?"

"It weighs three hundred pounds." Aoko said, and then paused, "What's with that look?"

"You know an awful lot about this..." Kaito said, with something like a laugh in his voice. He put on a fake British accent as he added, "Nakamori Aoko, it is you isn't it? You are Kaitou Kid!"

"Oh ha-ha..." Aoko said, sounding irritated. "It was in the file on our counter...I...might have peeked at it."

"Really? Isn't that illegal or something? Just proves my point more, Kid-chan." Kaito said in a teasing tone. Aoko complained at him as the magician handed Gazzy and I something. I narrowed my eyes in slight irritation, it seemed to be some kind of wind-up toy.

"Magic tricks really don't do it for me." I said flatly, tossing it over my shoulder.

"Oi, oi..." Kaito said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please go to your booths and prepare for the first course round the competition will begin in five more minutes!" A voice announced over a speaker. I waved goodbye to Kaito and Aoko and headed into our booth.

Just before everyone was going to go, the ground bucked underneath my feet, accompanied by the loudest explosion I think I've ever heard. Kaito barely caught me before I ended up braining myself with the countertop. Unfortunately it wasn't long until the magician was struggling to keep both of our balances. He scooped me up and jumped away, probably while yanking Aoko with his other hand since I noticed that he was holding me with one arm. I was guessing that Aoko had ahold of Ran. Kaito tripped over Gazzy, just as the booth we'd been at collapsed very loudly. I winced at the smell of smoke, and heard Kaito swear violently under his breath.

"What's going on?" I asked, wincing as another explosion rocked the building. Several people shrieked in terror. My heart squeezed with fear, "Ran-neechan?"

"I'm alright Iggy-kun." Ran said, sounding a tad bit shaken. "Kaito-kun, we need to get to an exit."

"Is Kid doing this?" Gazzy asked, sounding a little scared. I don't blame him. Hey, I really like making bombs but when the explosions are in a place where I can get hurt...no thanks. Kaito's grip tightened on my shoulder ever so slightly, which made me blink in confusion.

"No, it's not his style." Aoko said, panting hard. "Kaito, we're blocked..."

"I know, I know." Kaito hissed under his breath. Then he suddenly, and without warning, tackled the ground with me beneath him. Ran and Aoko must have done the same because another explosion sounded behind us. I winced as Kaito suddenly went very limp on top of me.

"Oi, he's crushing me." I coughed, trying to kick the teen off. Aoko yelped, and hauled him off. "I think he got hit by something, is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's just unconscious." Ran said. Aoko heaved a sigh of relief. "Here, grab his other shoulder, we're going to have to help carry him. Gazzy-kun, stay close to Iggy-kun. We're going to get out of here."

"People are dead." Gazzy whimpered, "Do you think Hakuba-kun is alright?"

"Here!" A coughing voice answered my friend. I felt somebody grab me by the hood of my jacket and pull me backwards. Ran and Aoko must have followed, because we were soon all jammed into a very tight space. I felt my heart pick up it's pace, and closed my eyes. I had a very intense feeling of deja vu mixed with claustrophobia. "Is Kuroba-kun alright?"

"Yes, I think so." Aoko said, as the magician groaned and began mumbling something that wasn't really coherent at all. "But he probably needs medical condition, ne?"

"Probably, yes." Hakuba muttered. Then he made a shushing noise at us as he leaned away from me, out of our protective cubby. "That...is definitely not Kaitou Kid."

_**

* * *

**_

Kaito opened his eyes a slit. Why was his head throbbing so badly? And why was it that he wanted to just go back to sleep? He was leaning heavily against Aoko...mostly against her. Ran was trying to help too. How nice of them.

"That...is definitely not Kaitou Kid." Hakuba said. Kaito had a suddenly rather irrational urge to laugh at him and tell the detective, well duh it's not Kid. After all, HE was Kid. Kaito was Kaitou...heheh...The detective struggled to wake himself up, and brought his arm from around Ran's neck so that he could rub his the back of his head. His fingers came away bloody.

"Ouch." He murmured, and got a shushing from the annoying detective. Kaito stuck his tongue out at him in response. At least he wasn't feeling quite so loopy now as he had a moment before. He quickly surveyed the area around them.

Most of the mall was on fire. The group was in a small space which seemed to be stable for the moment. A sheltered corner of sorts. Iggy was breathing heavily as if he was on the verge of having a small panic attack. Not that Kaito truly blamed him, hadn't the poor kid just recently been rescued from a burning building?

Not-kid, kid, eh. Same difference.

Kaito found himself looking to the statue, wondering how the jewel was. That was when he realized the meaning of Hakuba's words earlier. Several people were still running around the mall, and among them was a group of people dressed completely in black. Kaito's heart began to pound.

Was that the other reason Iggy was freaking out? Perhaps he didn't even realize it but...Kaito cut a glance at the blind kid. He was leaning against the wall, trembling and muttering something to himself over and over. It took a moment for Kaito to realize that he was telling himself, in English, "You're alright. Everything is fine...calm down..."

"They're going to steal the jewel." Hakuba said. Kaito stood up straighter, letting Aoko go for the moment, so that he could look over the detective's shoulder. Kaito's heart jolted.

No, dammit, no.

It was THIS jewel. It had to be. Why else would They want it after all? Kaito felt his teeth grit almost painfully. How had they figured out this was the one before he had? What was he going to do now? Without the jewel...he couldn't really get to Them. He had nothing. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to do it?

...

What in the HELL was Hakuba doing?

The detective had suddenly run out into the fire. Kaito stared after him for a moment, blinking blankly for a few seconds before following him and grabbing his arm. He hauled him back before any of the men could see him. Hakuba hissed furiously, glaring in Kaito's direction. "Lackies of yours?"

"What are you talking about?" Kaito said with an exasperated sigh. "Hakuba, don't go out just yet. I was thinking that we need to figure out something to sneak up on them together. Team-work, as much as I hate to say it..."

"There are a bunch of people in black." Gazzy said, making Kaito jump. The boy was talking to Iggy, of course, who had stiffened considerably. "You don't think...erm, you know?"

"Shhh..." Hakuba hissed. Kaito glanced over to see some of the people standing fairly close. Several pedestrians were running for the entrance. Kaito's stomach lurched sickeningly when the people in black pulled out several guns.

"Damn." Kaito breathed. People screamed, the panic grew even further. The only exit from the flames was blocked by people in guns. Kaito's eyes darted up to the gem. The explosions were for that then, to weaken the statues foundation so that they could take the whole thing.

"Isn't like Them." Iggy choked. "It's way too big..."

"I don't think They care, with immortality on the line." Kaito said, a heartbeat before he realized that it wasn't something very bright. Kaito let out a nervous laugh, inwardly cursing himself. Perhaps he was still a bit loopy from being clonked on the head after all.

"You know." Iggy said, not missing it at all. The blind boy sounded appalled, and Kaito felt suddenly very nervous. "You know about Them don't you?"

"Who are They, exactly?" Hakuba asked dryly. Iggy winced, and then put on a childish laugh while rubbing the back of his head. Kaito mentally thanked the detective for taking away his uncomfortable attention. The magician glanced back towards the chaos, his stomach hardening into a sick knot.

They were looking for people who were hiding. No witnesses were getting out of this situation. Kaito glanced back at Aoko and Ran, his heart thumping painfully. If he hadn't come here today to case this place then Aoko would be safe now. Kaito bit the end of his fingernail and swore inwardly.

If he had his Kid get-up, which he didn't, he would have simply changed into the thief in order to distract Them. Getting found out, hell, getting killed was well worth it as long as Aoko got out of this thing safely. Iggy stepped up to stand next to him. Hakuba was talking to the girls, trying to come up with a way out of the mall without getting shot.

"I don't know your reasons for knowing." Iggy said, "And I don't really want you to know mine. But you and I both know, that even if we get out of here, they won't be safe. They'll go to the police with this information, and they'll be killed."

Kaito nodded grudgingly, then choked, rubbing the back of his head. "Er, yes. I suppose that's true. We could always tell them not to say anything but...I doubt that will work. Unless of course we explain just how dangerous these people are...which is probably impossible unless we both let loose some very valuable secrets, ne?"

"Knock them out." Iggy said, "It's the only thing I can think to do. We can trick Aoko and Ran into thinking they passed out when the stuff fell on us earlier. Perhaps Hakuba will listen to you if you just ask him...but he might be harder to persuade than most. I could always take him to talk to a friend of mine. If anyone can convince you that doing something is stupid it'd be her..."

"I can mimic their voices to confuse Them." Gazzy offered, making Kaito glance at the kid. He would be able to do that as well, but that'd risk letting out his secret. It was bad enough that the blind-kid had figured out he had been involved with Them somehow. "They won't be able to hit me as easily as they'd like."

"Yes, that's perfect Gazzy!" Iggy said, "We have to be careful though. They've got snipers..."

"Nothing we haven't dealt with before." Gazzy said. Kaito recollected the information he'd looked up the other day and nodded. He slipped a small pellet into his fingers. He handed several smoke pellets to both of the boys, before nodding.

"Both of you hold your breath." Kaito advised, and waited for a heartbeat before slamming it into the ground.

* * *

Gazzy stuck the smoke pellets into his pockets and ducked out of the cubby they had been sharing. The youth pulled Iggy along behind him, and hid behind a pillar. The people were very close. Gazzy listened hard, picking the voice of a nearby person. He pulled Iggy away, who was beginning to look a little irritated at being jerked around, and ducked behind a pile of rubble.

"Hey, there's a bunch of em' getting out over there! Passed the flames!" Gazzy yelled, copying that person's voice. Several people ran in that direction, and the youth pulled himself out of sight as they passed.

He glanced over to where Kaito was now hauling Hakuba, Ran, and Aoko. Gazzy couldn't imagine how hard it must have been to carry all three of them, but adrenaline could be a beautiful thing sometimes. Hakuba, at least, seemed to be half conscious since he was stumbling groggily around.

Gazzy glanced back at the bad-guys, his heart lurching. If even one of them were to look over there they'd spot them in no time. Gazzy opened his wings and flew up, with Iggy following just after him. At the same time they dropped the smoke pellets.

The entire room was already filled with smoke from the fire, and the pink, blue, and yellow blossoms of made it even harder to see. Magician's officially had really distracting objects in their arsenal. Several shouts were sounded and Gazzy kept a sharp eye out for any laser pointers.

Just as the last bit of the smoke was clearing up, Gazzy dropped more of the pellets. He was out now, but Iggy should have had a little bit more left. He dove for the ground, and Iggy followed after him. They both landed in front of Kaito, breathing a little heavily. The magician was near the window, and lowering Hakuba on a chain of handkerchiefs he'd pulled out of nowhere.

"Really?" Iggy said with a snort, helping the magician by grabbing the end and probably noticing what it was by the variety of color.

"Hey, it works doesn't it?" Kaito hissed in reply. They quickly lowered the detective and Gazzy looked over the edge. It seemed that Ran and Aoko were safe on the bottom, but they weren't quite out of the woods yet. Gazzy jumped down and Iggy followed. Kaito would have to come after them.

_**

* * *

**_

He hesitated...Gazzy and Iggy would probably be able to get them away after all. The magician cut a glance over his shoulder before running into the smoke. He knew it was stupid but...

Heh, he could get out of every other situation before. Why should this be any different?

The magician yelped in surprise when he came face to face with one of the people in black. They aimed at him and he cartwheeled out of the way as quickly as he could possibly manage, back into the smoke.

He paused in his run when he noticed a store nearby, one that sold ski-masks. Perhaps it wasn't his style, but he couldn't risk his face being seen by any of these people. The thief grabbed one and put in on his face before ducking out into the smoke filled hall once more. (After destroying the cameras with his cardgun of course...)

Kaito glanced around, and grinned to himself when he spotted two other people nearby.

That happened to be carrying the statue.

Kaito pulled out a flash bomb, and tossed it on the ground at their feet. Both men yelped in shock, and Kaito grabbed for the falling statue. "Thank you, kind gentlemen!" Kaito said in his Kid voice, barely managing not to drop the statue. He staggered under the weight, and let it drop.

Okay, so what now? Those two were bound to find him in this smoke soon. Kaito grabbed for the jewel and shook his hand when it zapped him. Really, that was what they had done? Rigged it up with electric shocks? Kaito pulled some of his gloves from his pocket, and quickly managed to pry the gem loose.

He pocketed it, and stiffened when a gun was pressed to his head. Careful to keep his eyes level with his assailants he chuckled. "Ah, it seems I've been caught red-handed then?"

"Yes, well, thank you for making things a bit simpler for us I suppose." It was the voice of a woman, cold and calculating. Kaito glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He slipped his cardgun out of his sleeve. The motion wasn't perceptable, "But now you're caught."

"I'm too good at this game to get captured." Kaito said with a grin, before firing at the woman's hand. The gun clattered to the ground and he cartwheeled out of the way. The window? Which way had it been? The magician hauled ass for that direction, expecting to get shot at any second.

There! He jumped down, and hit the grass. The wind was knocked out of him for a moment, but he somehow forced himself to run away from the building anyways. That gem was in his pocket as well, one that they were after. He was certain it was the Pandora Jewel...but he'd have to wait until the next full moon to be certain.

_That was easy._ He thought, but not jovially. It was easy, almost too easy. The magician shoved his doubt away after double checking to make sure that the gem had no trackers stuck to it or anything of the sort. He tossed the mask he wore into the burning building.

* * *

"Ran-neechan! Ran-neechan!" I said, shaking her shoulder. She groaned, and woke up an instant later. I hadn't had the chance to call Shinichi yet, but we were safe now I was pretty sure. Gazzy and I had dragged everyone as far away from the building as possible. Gazzy would be dealing with Aoko, and I had Ran. Hakuba...well, I had managed to keep the detective from saying anything by pointing out that a group that big would easily be able to find Aoko and Ran, and they would be in danger if he said anything. Besides, he had no evidence, no clues about who those people could possibly be.

"Those men, the people who were killing everyone!" Ran shouted, making me wince. I heard her pause, as though confused, "Um...Iggy-kun what's going on?"

"Don't you remember?" I asked, "The building caught fire. There was a lot of explosions, and you got us out. But you passed out when we were on this bench..."

"Those men...Iggy-kun, we need to go to the police." Ran said.

"But there weren't any men...Gazzy didn't say there was anyways. We already talked to the police, Ran-neechan. Kaito-kun and Hakuba-kun went to get statements done. That's what they said." I prayed that she would buy it. Please let her buy it, because Shinichi would FLIP if she got involved with the organization while on a miniadventure with me.

Even though I technically couldn't have done anything about it.

"Was it a dream...?" Ran murmured, sounding dazed. "Do I need to go to the hospital."

"I don't think so, the paramedics already looked at you." I said, and then added cheerfully. "Wait there for a minute, okay? I'm worried about everything that happened so I'm gonna go call home and ask for a ride okay."

I jumped away, my fingers tracing the buttons on the cellphone Shinichi had been kind enough to supply for me. After figuring out which speed dial I had him set to I pressed the button and pulled the phone up to my ear. I was listening carefully for Ran, who was just mumbling to herself on the bench about how she hoped everyone got out of that building alright, when the phone picked up.

"Oi, what is it?" Shinichi said, sounding slightly irritated. "I was just getting to a good part-"

"Problem, major problem." I hissed, coughing, "The mall we were at? Yeah, it got bombed."

"What? Where's Ran?" Shinichi hissed.

"Gee, thanks for the concern Shinichi-kun. I'm perfectly fine." I said dryly, "Ran's alright, I wouldn't be wasting time calling you if I was still in a burning building. Kaito-kun helped us to get everyone out safely. That's not what the problem is, alright?"

"Kaito-kun?" Shinichi asked, "That magician?"

"Listen!" I snapped, "Shinichi-kun...They were there."

Silence, completely horrified silence on the other line. I winced and hurriedly talked into the phone, "I've convinced Ran that it was some sort of wild dream. Not the building blowing up, but the people in black. I think she's a little loopy from whatever Kaito-kun used to knock her out, but..."

"Did anybody see her?" He asked sharply.

"No, I'm pretty sure she wasn't spotted. I don't think I was seen either...but if They somehow find our names on that sign-in list and figure out we aren't dead we're still in trouble." I paused, listening to the sound of fire engines. "Then again, the whole cooking competition area is under piles of rubble and in flames. We were last minute entrees...I think we were lucky, Shinichi-kun."

"Just...bring her home." Shinichi said, sounding tired. "Please, I won't be able to relax unless I can see that she's safe..."

_**

* * *

**_

_**Wow...**_

_**In the original chapter the building didn't even blow up...**_

_**No explosions, no bad-guys.**_

_**X3 I like the change, it builds up for the coming finale.**_

_**-gasps- Yes, finale! Are you ready for it?**_

_**In case you were curious, the woman Kaito encountered was Vermouth.**_

_**Which means...he was right, that was too easy. O,o**_

_**Review please**_


	27. Goodbye and Farewell

_Disclaimer:_

_Don't own iiit..._

_**You remember how...like ages ago I said I was going to do a WarriorsDC Xover?**_

_**I lied X3**_

_**Not really, I just started it and decided that I didn't like where it was going. It will never ever see the light of day because it is, unfortunately, the worst crap that has ever spewed forth from the pits of my mind. **_

_**That's saying quite a bit. -.-u**_

_**However, I think I MIGHT ('might' being the key word) do one starring older Mitsuhiko, who accidentally gets sent back in time and takes some APTX...**_

_**Lawl, because it's been prodding at my consciousness and won't leave me alone...**_

_**EmPhantom- Thank you! Gazzy happens to be my third favorite member of the Flock, and I really love playing with his character. He has moments where it's really obvious he's a kid, but there are other times where it's just so easy to forget he's not one of the older ones. X3 Yeah, poor Ran still hasn't tasted Iggy's cooking...**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- I know, me too! I'm almost wishing it didn't have to end, but then that would be so unsatisfying. It's kind of how I feel about the actual Detective Conan series. I'm excited for the end because it'll be epic, but I don't want it to come cause I love it so much. X3 Gin is going to be so much fun in the coming chapters. -cackles- I love playing with the scary badguys. Yeah, the change actually caught me off guard but I thought it was a nice way to get the plot into motion. This chapter is...not as explosive but still important. -sobs- How many more are left? Mmm...I can't say for sure. **_

_**

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**_

_Chapter Twenty-seven- Goodbye and Farewell_

To say that Shinichi has been a bit on edge for the past few days would be a bit of an understatement. He was only just beginning to relax. I think that I wasn't the only person in the house that was relieved over this fact, even if Ran had no idea why he was acting the way he was of course.

No matter where she went, Shinichi insisted on going with her. He did this in the most degrading and childish ways possible, resorting to throwing a few temper tantrums when Ran got close to going without him once or twice. I guess it just went to show how worried he was for her.

Still, sometimes I wonder how a person with as much pride as Shinichi could stoop to that level.

Other than that, things seemed to be going well for Hattori. He and Kazuha were spending much of their time together, without anyone else to bother them. Now we were with them though, but only because they would be leaving later in the day. I sat with my fingers drumming listlessly on the table top.

I was bored, and a bit on edge thanks to Shinichi's constant heckling. He had me near to paranoia. I was certain the other day that I heard Scotch sneeze, though I didn't tell Shinichi about that. I spent the entire afternoon looking in any place he could be hiding where I could have heard him, which wasn't all that successful.

The feeling that someone was watching me seemed to be constant. I was seriously considering mentioning as much to Shinichi, but I was a little nervous about bringing it up. I tried to remember that time long ago, when Scotch had first kidnapped me. Hadn't he taken me from the front of the Agency?

Did I say as much to Shinichi? If I did what would that do? Would he go over the top again and just make life a royal headache for me and everyone else in Mouri Detective Agency?

"Iggy-kun..." Ran said, in a way that suggested she had been trying to get my attention for awhile. I let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of my head as I did so. "Conan-kun was saying that you had a love interest in your school? Who is it?"

"Eh?" I said, and felt my face heat up instantly. That Shinichi, I really ought to just do something to be extra cruel to him for once. Only thing is, I can't really do that without somehow hurting Ran indirectly. (At least, I can't think of anything to do) So I was left to scowl at my plate. "It doesn't matter."

I was surprised how unhappy about this I was. Even after White Day Shiho hadn't come to school, and I was starting to feel like barging into the house and yelling at her. I mean, forgive me if I thought that the cake would be a more subtle and romantic way to get her to face me...

Romantic?

Cripe, what am I saying? Just shut up and keep reading. If you're laughing at me I won't be able to forgive you, got that? Where was I? Oh, right, lunch with Ran, Shinichi, Kazuha and Heiji.

"Did she turn you down?" Kazuha said, sounding a little sympathetic. I grit my teeth when I heard Shinichi snickering. Oh yes, easy for him to laugh, he got to hang out with his girlfriend every freaking day. Not that Shiho is my girlfriend mind you. She just...kissed me once is all.

That hardly means anything.

Okay, so it means SOMETHING obviously, I'm not that clueless. I'm just saying that it doesn't make somebody boyfriend and girlfriend if they kiss once. And I didn't kiss her, she kissed me. So it doesn't really even count right? But for some reason that just made me feel a little unhappy.

"I've been meaning to ask you..." Ran said, "How is it that you know Max-chan and the others so well? You don't use any sort of formality with them, so you must be very close...but I wasn't even aware that you knew each other."

"Oh...that." I said, rubbing the back of my head nervously. "Gazzy's been my friend since we were little I guess. He never really got to know Conan-niichan though...I guess I just got used to the family that way. They're all from America, so I guess I don't really use the formality for them because of that."

"Oh, so that's what that accent was." Kazuha said.

"That Max-san doesn't seem to know Japanese well at all." Hattori added, slurping something from his bowl. I slammed the heel of my foot on the top of his and he yelped. I could only imagine the death-glare he was giving me as he leaned down and growled, "And what was that for?"

"Try not to say something stupid that just makes the story more difficult." Shinichi hissed at him in an irritated way.

"Heiji, it kind of worries me that you're so attached to little kids..." Kazuha said. I snorted with laughter and Shinichi started to snicker as Hattori sat up.

"What? These kids just cling to me is all. I thought it woulda been rude if I got angry at them for it." Hattori said casually. I ceased in my laughter at the same moment as Shinichi. I'm sure the same thing was going through our heads at the same time. Cling? I don't cling to anybody, let alone that annoying Osakan.

"Oi, oi." Shinichi mumbled, I wholeheartedly agreed.

"Hold on a minute..." The waitress that had given us our drinks had returned, and was leaning down so that she could better inspect Ran. "You're Sleeping Kogoro's daughter aren't you! Oh my goodness! I never expected to be waiting on somebody who was a celebrity's daughter!"

"Oh...um, yes." Ran said, sounding slightly embarassed. Shinichi snorted a little irritably, which was understandable I suppose. After all, it was he who did all the work. In fact, he did more work than a lot of detectives.

"And you're that detective, the one from Osaka!" The waitress squealed a bit, and Hattori winced slightly. I let out a sharp yelp when I was shoved roughly aside, and glared at her. "Oh wow, you're way cuter than people give you credit for!"

"Thank...you?" Hattori said, probably unsure how he should take such a comment. She squealed very loudly after that, and I could almost see the dark-skinned teen wincing at the high pitched shriek.

"What a cute accent you have!" She gushed. I groaned, of all the things in the world...

"K-Kazuha! That hurts-" Hattori yelped, probably because the girl must have latched herself to him. I didn't have to see to know she was shooting the most potent death-glare in our waitress's direction that has ever been glared before. Shinichi let out an amused sounding chuckle as the poor detective squeaked rather pathetically in his girlfriend's grip.

"Isn't it though?" Kazuha hissed. I covered my laughter with my hands when the waitress stiffened next to me. Hattori seemed to be attempting to find the words to get the both of them to calm down, and it wasn't working.

"And who are YOU?" The waitress said with clear disdain in her tone.

"My girlfriend." Hattori growled back, suddenly sounding very irritated. "Are ya goin' ta get us some food or are we going to have ta go somewhere else? I doubt the manager will appreciate finding out you harassed us..."

"No, that's alright." The girl got up hastily, sounding clearly embarassed. She rushed away without asking us what we'd like and returned a moment later seeming ten times more humiliated than before. "What is it that you wanted?"

We quickly ordered, and she wanted to get out of there so badly that she didn't even question the fact that I ordered five burgers for myself. She rushed off, and I heard Kazuha thwack Hattori with something. "Geez Heiji, you didn't have to be so mean to her, she was just your fan."

I snorted with laughter and Hattori honestly seemed to be unable to come up with some sort of reply except for a mumbled, "Ahou."

"How much do you want to bet she'll ask someone else to come out?" I asked Shinichi, leaning back in my chair and grabbing for my glass of soda. "That poor girl seemed ready to go find a hole and bury herself in it after what Hattori said to her, ne? Though Kazuha-chan is probably right, she was just his fan after all."

"Fangirls are annoying." Shinichi said flatly. I quirked a smile in his direction when he added, a little mischeviously, "Though it's never a bad thing to be loved."

"Ew, except that stalker kind of love." I whispered, "You know, when you walk outside and you find a lock of somebody's hair on your welcome mat or something...or their dead cat saying that they'd kill for you. That's just plain creepy."

"It's disturbing that you would even think of something like that." Shinichi murmured back.

"Eh, with you anything's possible." I took a loud slurp of my soda and blinked when I noticed that Ran was chuckling. Both Shinichi and I asked at the same time, "What is it, Ran-neechan?"

"It's just that...it's very obvious that you two are close brothers." Ran said sounding cheerful. I blinked in surprise, and would have glanced at Shinichi in surprise if I could see. Was that true? Were we really like brothers, even when we weren't acting? It was a weird thing to think of but...

You know...sitting here with all of them. Ran, Shinichi, hell, even Kazuha and Hattori...they're all kind of a part of a family of sorts. I sipped at my drink thoughtfully. I might as well add the Detective Boys to that family, and Agasa-hakase as well. And Shiho...maybe even Kaito and Aoko.

A few months ago...I never expected to get attached to these people. But I was now, wasn't I? If anything were to ever happen to any of them I'd be just as unhappy as I would be if something happened to one of the Flock. Did that mean I was lucky? That I had two families now?

"Of course." I said cheerfully, giving Shinichi a smile. "Conan-niichan is the best person to have as an older brother after all, ne?"

"Iggy-kun." Shinichi muttered, sounding slightly caught off guard. Lucky for me a different waiter had returned with our orders, apologizing for the switch in who was taking care of us. I didn't want to deal with any mooshy moments, even if it was just a brotherly one.

* * *

The train station was busy this afternoon. Apparently there had been several delays or something like that. I stood off to the side as Kazuha and Ran said their farewells. Hattori leaned over and patted me on the head so that I turned a glare in his direction. However by that time he was talking to Shinichi so it probably went unnoticed.

"Listen Kudou..." Hattori said, "I'd like ya ta keep an eye on that Kaito guy...somethin' about him seems a bit odd."

"Yeah." Shinichi muttered back, making me blink a little. Really? They thought something was odd about him? I raised my hand until I had captured both of their attentions.

"I think that too. Something about him is just...off a bit. I don't think he's dangerous, but he definitely...knows about Them." I lowered my voice near the end, and could sense Shinichi stiffening quite a bit. I winced a little, perhaps that was something I should have brought up earlier?

"What?" He hissed. Yeah, definitely something I should have brought up earlier.

"He knew they were dangerous enough that we had to knock out the girls and Hakuba so they wouldn't call the police afterword." I pointed out, "And the way he said it...said that it was Them told me he knew what they were talking about. He said something like, 'I don't think They care, when immortality is involved', though I haven't got the slightest clue what that could mean. What do you two think?"

"It sounds suspicious." Hattori muttered, then added cheerfully, "Well, if anyone can figure it out it's us! Don't sweat it and all that stuff. I better be going."

"You just want to get on the train so you can make out with your girlfriend in peace." I said flatly, letting an amused smile cross my features when he stiffened with embarassment. Shinichi laughed out loud, and Hattori began muttering something about him getting better friends. I shrugged, "Aw, but you know that your friends are closer when they tease you, ne?"

"Whatever." Hattori said grudgingly. "See ya both later. I'll get ahold of Fang-kun when we get back to Osaka, I've got a feelin' that he's still hangin' around over there."

"Do that would you?" I said, narrowing my eyes. "Or I'll have to come looking for him again."

"If ya get any smaller than that you'll be in trouble." Hattori joked, I rolled my eyes as he walked away.

"Oi, Shinichi..." I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Are you going to go and find Kaito-kun so you can talk to him? I get the feeling that he might be expecting it for some reason...ah-le? Is something wrong?"

He was quiet, unusually so. I was wondering if he was deep in his thoughts because when he answered he sounded far away. "Iggy-kun, where exactly does Max-chan and the rest of the Flock live?"

"Apartment block D, room three hundred in the third district." I said blankly, "Why?"

"Shit!" Shinichi snapped, making me start with alarm as he whirled and headed away from me. I stumbled to catch up after him, calling his name and trying to get him to at least give me something considered a coherent answer. Ran let out a startled noise when I bumped into her and continued running.

"Iggy-kun, Conan-kun, what are you two doing?" She called.

"Eh-eh? Ran-neechan, um...Conan-niichan is playing tag. I'll catch him don't worry!" I shouted over my shoulder, and bolted out the door. I hardly heard him as he opened the door of a taxi and shouted orders to the driver. "Don't you DARE shut that door yet, let me in!"

I managed to scramble inside, and Shinichi shut the door. "Go to where all the police cars are going." Shinichi ordered, the taxi driver seemed stunned that such an order would be shouted from a little kid but any hesitation was thrown out the window when he snapped in a very irritable tone, "Hurry!"

My stomach had hardened into a knot.

_**

* * *

**_

"Here, stop!" Shinichi ordered, and the taxi driver slammed on the brakes so hard that I was thrown onto the floor of the taxi. Wear your seatbelts kids, that's the lesson that I quickly learned in that moment. I groaned, rubbing my now incredibly sore head as Shinichi bailed from the car. I followed after him as quickly as I could.

"What's going on? What was the problem?" I said, irritated because Shinichi wasn't giving me a straight answer at all. He stopped so abruptly that I slammed into him from behind and fell back on my rear. "And you just freakin' stop in the middle of the sidewalk like that! Come ON Shinichi!"

"The building has collapsed." Shinichi said, and my eyes stretched wide. "The entire apartment complex, it collapsed. I was listening to the radio station...they mentioned it."

I got up and shoved him out of the way. Panic made my heart pound. "Guys?" I yelled, "Guys!"

"Conan-kun..." I heard somebody say, one of the officers that followed Megure around. Takagi. The man seemed surprised that we were there, and suddenly he stammered in surprise when I darted under the tape and ran for the rubble. I know it wasn't rational, if they were really in there...chances were...chances..."H-Hold on a minute Iggy-kun!"

Arms grabbed me from behind and it took everything in my power not to break the person's nose for doing that. Whoever it was, she was a woman, I think I met her once before but I couldn't remember her name. "Let me down! I need to make sure they're all right! Put me down right now dammit!"

"Satou-san..." Takagi said, sounding relieved as she set me next to Shinichi but kept a firm grip on my shoulders.

"Calm down Iggy-kun, nobody was in the building when it collapsed." That was Chiba, an officer that I'd had previous contact with because of an earlier case. "It seems that everyone was evacuated in time, thank goodness."

My relief was so immense that I nearly fell down right there. If it weren't for Satou, I probably would have. I sighed, and bent my head down. Shinichi meanwhile was asking questions about what had happened. I wasn't paying any attention until Satou mentioned, solemnly, that it seemed to be the same people who had attacked the elementary.

The School, of course. I suppose that made sense. I needed to talk with the Flock as soon as possible, but were they still even here? It would be dangerous for them to be sticking around but...

"Iggy!" Nudge said, sounding relieved. She pulled Shinichi and I away. The officers were more than willing to let us go with someone else. "Oh my gosh, we were so worried. We thought that since our place was attacked that maybe they'd gone after you guys as well. What a relief that they didn't, but I'm scared that they might know where the agency is. It wouldn't be that hard to find would it?"

"YOU were worried?" I snapped, furious. "What the hell you guys? I was almost positive that you were buried in there! Why didn't you call Shinichi's cell or something and get ahold of us?"

"We couldn't remember the number." Max said. "Besides, if you should be angry at anybody, you should be angry at that little guy. If anyone is to blame for making you freak it's him. Isn't he the one who rushed here in such a panicked state?"

"Sorry for worrying." Shinichi replied a little heatedly. I pushed between the two, not in the mood for any sort of argument and wishing that Max would notice that she was not only someone with superpowers, but a good four feet taller than Shinichi was at the moment. Wouldn't be a very fair fight.

"The officers think it was the School." I said, and blinked when she stiffened. "Ah-ha, what I mean is, they connected this with an earlier case involving them. They took the elementary school I was staying at for hostage awhile ago. But this is bad, if they know where the whole Flock is..."

I trailed off, feeling a bit like somebody had socked me in the stomach. Shinichi was muttering something about seeing if he could convince Kogoro to let us all stay, but he doubted it. "Perhaps Agasa-hakase would let you all stay, though you might not like it much since he's a scientist..."

"We can't." I said, clenching my fists.

"I know that they don't trust him, but I thought you'd gotten over that by now." Shinichi said, sounding slightly confused. Really, for a detective he just doesn't see what's right in front of him. I grit my teeth, mulling it over in my head over and over.

"Iggy...wait, we don't necessarily..." Gazzy trailed off as I shook my head.

"What?" Shinichi growled.

"The Flock has to leave." I said, "The Flock has to leave Japan."

Silence, I was surprised by how much this actually hurt. Shinichi seemed a little nervous suddenly as he said, "You can stay in touch with them right? Until the antidote..."

"I have to go with them Shinichi." I snapped, "I said the Flock, and I'm part of the Flock. Or did you forget that?"

Hadn't I known from the beginning that this was just temporary? I wasn't ever supposed to stay with these people. I KNEW that I'd have to eventually say goodbye, if not now then after the antidote was made. I closed my eyes, and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. It shouldn't have hurt this bad, when I knew it was coming right?

"You don't HAVE to go." Shinichi reasoned, sounding irritated. "Tokyo is a huge city Iggy-kun, there are plenty of places-"

"Baka." I said, glaring at nothing. "If I stay here it'd just be one more thing that could put Ran in danger? Remember what Nudge said earlier? How hard would it be to find a detective agency of all things? It's not exactly what you'd call covert. As for finding other places to hide, that's just it, we can't. The School is always a step ahead, they find us every single time, and that's when we're flying around the world."

What was that I had said earlier, about being lucky enough to have two families?

* * *

School the next day was hell. I don't know why I decided to put myself through that, after all wasn't it just making things worse? Besides, it was dangerous...yet I couldn't make myself do it. I couldn't make myself leave without saying goodbye to the Detective Boys. So after school I held out my badge to them and gave them a sad smile.

"What's this for?" Mitsuhiko asked, "Did you break it?"

"You should be more careful Iggy-kun." Ayumi said in a scolding sort of tone.

"Yeah, if you break things like this all the time then you'll never get nice stuff." Genta added.

Shinichi stayed silent, Shiho wasn't even here. Again. I let my bangs cover my eyes, surprised by how bloody choked up I was over this. They were just a bunch of a little kids after all. Little kids that...that were reliable. Little kids that cared about me. Little kids that I cared about myself.

Dammit.

"Iggy-kun?" Ayumi asked, clearly noticing that something was wrong. She leaned forward, touching my shoulder lightly with her little hand. She was worried about me. "We didn't mean that, we've broken the badges before too. It's alright."

"I'm leaving." I said, biting back the choked noise in my throat. I'm stupid, I decided, because really what kind of moron would put himself through this? Just to make sure I said good bye to a bunch of little kids? "I'm leaving Beika to go back to America."

"What?" Mitsuhiko said.

"Why?" Genta stated, sounding irritated. "Are your parents making you go? That's stupid, if you're going then they should make Conan go too...wait, is Conan going too?"

"No, I'm staying here." Shinichi stated in an eerily calm voice. "They were worried about Iggy-kun because of his blindness, so they wanted him to return home where they could look after him and make sure that he was safe. They don't want him living in a detective agency like that."

"But..." Ayumi said, sounding very small and heartbreakingly sad. "But you're our friend? You have to go camping with us again someday...and you need to teach me how to cook things."

"I can't. I have to go Ayumi." I said, shutting my eyes. "Look, I'm giving back my badge alright? Since...if I'm going I'm technically not part of the Detective Boys anymore, am I?"

"You have to keep it!" Mitsuhiko shouted, making me blink in surprise. "You have to keep it Iggy-kun...because...because..."

"No matter how far away you go you're still a Detective Boy!" Genta exclaimed. "You can't give up that badge because you joined our club, and nobody is allowed to quit it. No matter what!"

"You guys..." I mumbled, blinking in surprise. I was suddenly tackled into a hug, that made me shut my eyes against the strange wave of sorrow that welled up within me. Every one of them, they were holding me tight and crying their eyes out. Even Mitsuhiko and Genta.

"We'll see each other again someday." Ayumi said through her sobs, "It's a promise."

I closed my eyes, and wished with all of my heart that those words could come true someday. I would love to be able to be with these kids again. I wanted to know that this wasn't the last time I would be around the Detective Boys.

_**

* * *

**_

"Are you sure you don't want to wait for them to pick you up at home...er, I mean the agency Iggy-kun?" Ran said, sounding nervous. I shook my head, keeping my hands shoved in my pockets and my face hidden. We were supposed to go to a park, where I would meet Max and the others.

According to Ran, Max would take me to my parents. Who had suddenly decided they didn't want their blind child living in such a big and scary place.

"Ran-neechan." I said, we had stopped. I knew that Max and the other's were all there. We'd be going, and I had my pack filled with things that would be essential for flying. I smiled, "Thank you very much for being so nice to me."

I was surprised when she pulled me into a hug. I had the feeling that she was near to crying for some reason, but I tried not to focus on that. She put me down and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. I felt my cheeks heat up a little bit, and struggled not to tear the fake ticket I was holding apart.

"Thank you, Iggy-kun. I hope that we'll get to meet each other again." She said sadly, "I'm very sorry that you have to go. I really wish you could stay...we really are going to miss you."

"Yeah, me too." Kogoro's voice surprised me. I hadn't been aware that he had been following us. "With you around that other brat seemed to be content and didn't bother me so much is what I mean. Ran, we need to get going soon."

"Okay." Ran said, she hugged me again before muttering, "Stay safe Iggy-kun."

"Bye Ran-neechan." I whispered, and she stepped back to let Shinichi and I be for a moment. I kicked at the ground a little blankly for a moment. I was surprised by the fact that...of everything this one was almost the worst goodbye that I had to say. I kicked and hit a pebble out of luck. "I guess..."

"Listen." Shinichi grunted, "I'm not great at things like this. I'm an only child, so I've never really had a brother before...but...gah, just know that if I ever could have had some sort of choice in the matter I wouldn't have minded so much. If my brother was you that is. Keep this phone with you, so that I can call you when Haibara comes up with an antidote."

I grabbed the phone, and put it in my pocket. Silence stretched between us and Shinichi coughed uncomfortably. I muttered, "Thank you...for helping me? Trying to, anyways. For your hospitality...and thanks for being my friend Shinichi."

"Yeah, whatever...just don't say my name so loudly." Shinichi muttered, even though I had hardly even whispered the words. I laughed and he added, with what I can imagine was a grin, "You'll have to come back no matter what anyways. Not just because of the antidote, but you happen to still owe me about six jackets that you completely destroyed."

I blinked, and rubbed the back of my head. "You found out about those? Oops..."

"Don't try hiding something from a detective, baka." Shinichi growled, I snorted. Slowly, he added, "You...don't want to go to Agasa-hakase's to say goodbye to somebody? I told her you were leaving today, and that you'd be saying goodbye at school but..."

"Agasa-san probably doesn't really know me well enough to be troubled with something like that." I said, and found myself smiling sadly at the ground as I paused. "And...as for...Shiho-san..."

"Truth is, I don't know if I can face her." I said, fighting to keep the smile on my face as I looked up. Even though I knew that Shinichi was a good enough detective to see through something as ridiculous as that. "It hurts enough to say goodbye to you, and all of the others. I know that it'll hurt ten times more...and I don't want to...bring up those feelings that she told me about in that vent. Because I don't think I could live with myself if..."

I stopped, finding it hard to breathe. I covered my eyes with my arm and sighed, "I don't think I could live with myself if I heard the heartbreak in her voice...if she would even have that in her voice. It's hard to tell with her I guess, but either way I'd walk away hurting Shinichi."

"But..." Shinichi paused. I sighed, and socked him in the arm. "Ow..."

"See you later...well, I guess I won't really SEE you later because...yeah." I coughed, and put on another fake smile. "Someday. I know Shiho will come up with a cure. You do too, ne? Good bye...Shinichi."

"Bye Iggy." Shinichi said in reply.

I waited in silence as they walked away, trying to hide just how badly this hurt from the rest of the Flock. I was pretty sure I was failing though, because everyone was dead silent. Even Total, who was shifitng a bit from paw to paw in a way that seemed slightly restless. I closed my eyes.

"You know, it's alright to like...cry if you want Iggy." Nudge said, sounding concerned. "Like, we know that you really, really liked those people. A lot. You seemed really happy whenever you were hanging around them and stuff..."

"Funny thing is..." I said, shutting my eyes against the pain. "It hurts so bad that I can't seem to even do that. How pathetic."

* * *

Shiho kept her head down as she worked. She had placed her emotion into a small box. Yes, for now it was best to focus on what was right in front of her. Even if she had been right the entire time. Even if she had known, from the very beginning, that she was just setting her glass heart up to be shattered.

When was she going to learn?

So she just had to finish the antidote. Because the sooner she got that done the sooner she'd see him again. But why? Why set herself up just to get broken down again? Why did she want to face him, when she was too afraid to go and tell him goodbye? Was this how Kudou-kun felt, whenever he hesitated on how Ran felt for him?

Really it was Iggy that helped her to get so far in the testing now. She was close now, she could see that. It had been his metabolism that had made her think about it. Strong alcohol could affect other's differently because of metabolism as well. So Shiho wondered if she could somehow slow the metabolism down enough if that would effectively create a permanent cure.

She pulled a small pill out of it's case, and filled it with the powder. Her mouth quirked into a small smile. She knew that Kudou-kun would be more than willing to take another test...especially if she mentioned that this one might be the permanent cure. She was certain that it was safe as well, though Iggy's would need a bit of tweaking to work for him. She considered throwing out the temporary antidote she still had on the counter, but she couldn't be sure this would be it until she gave it to him.

The doorbell rang, making Shiho blink up from her work. Had Iggy come to tell her goodbye perhaps? Her heart lifted slightly against her own will. She slipped the antidote into her pocket before heading upstairs. She would be the one who would have to answer the door, since the Hakase had taken the children out in an attempt to cheer them up.

Really, it was the emotion that did it. She knew that it was dangerous, to let herself feel. Because when she felt it was harder to sense the important things. So it wasn't until she opened the door and found herself face to face with the dark barrel of a gun that her stomach lurched sickeningly with an all to familiar fear.

"Ah, so it seems I was correct. Even in such a small size, that white labcoat truly becomes you..." The man on the other side grinned at her, easily breaking through the door and throwing her to the floor. Her heart was pounding so quickly that she could hear it in her ears. He was wearing black, all black. "Sherry."

_**

* * *

**_

Even flying wasn't picking up my mood. Sheesh, I bet everyone in the group was beginning to loose their control over the fact that I was like a tainted cloud of depression floating all over the place. I blinked when my phone rang, startling me a bit. I grabbed for it, and flipped the top open.

"Hello?" I asked, wondering if somebody had already decided to call me and how the reception was. I blinked, flattening my gaze, "Helloooo?"

"Iggy, I think it's a text message." Gazzy said, grabbing the phone from me before I could protest. I heard him pause, seeming a little bit confused for some reason. "That's weird, it's just a bunch of numbers...wait, there's a couple letters in there I guess...but it's mostly just a bunch of numbers."

"A prank?" Dylan queried, pulling it away from Gazzy from the sound of Gaz's grumbling. "Or maybe it's some sort of code your friend wants you to solve. You did join that little detective club right?"

"Shhh..." Nudge hissed, as I felt another twinge of sadness. Oh great, I was probably the picture of depression. Total flew up so that he was looking at it as well.

"It's certainly odd...or, shall I say, even." The little dog chortled in something like amusement. "I'm surprised it sent though, you'd think reception wouldn't be very clear when you're all the way up here. Oh well, I suppose..."

"Just give it back please." I growled, holding my hand open. "It's one of the few things I've got to remember my little misadventures, and I'd like to make sure somebody doesn't drop it or something."

They returned it to me without another word. Silence stretched between us as we flew on. Uncharateristically so, since we usually were willing to chat with each other when we're in the air. Goodness, I'm like a freaking disease or something like that. Why was I filled with so much regret?

After all, I made the right choice right? The Flock had to leave, and I was part of the Flock.

"Are you alright?" Max asked, sounding concerned. I blinked in surprise as she added, a little heatedly, "Look, I can't say that I've been happy with you lately. Up and leaving like that? We were worried about you you know! And do you have any idea what Angel almost made poor Conan almost do? The kid practically rolled under a truck getting away from her, and that wouldn't have happened if we weren't looking for you. Then I find out that you were attacked by the School, but you didn't even MENTION it? It was obvious you were attacked when we save you, but you didn't even bring up the thing about the elementary school. We're family Iggy, and we share our problems. Something's eating you."

"I just left behind people I never thought I'd start caring about." I said after a long moment of silence. The hurt in my tone wasn't because of anything Max said, but just because of the fact that I left them behind. "I...I feel bad about it."

I yelped in surprise when my phone went off very unexpectedly. I grit my teeth and flicked it open, trying not to feel a flash of irritation. If it was another text I was going to be really unhappy. "Hello?"

"Iggy!" Shinichi shouted, I winced, holding the phone away from my ear.

"Baka! You don't have to yell you know, I can hear you just fine when you don't. Did you send me that weird message earlier with that crap-load of numbers? Har-har, very funny Shinichi. I truly appreciate you sending that to somebody who is BLIND!" I snapped into the phone, but I was actually a little happy to hear from him.

"Message? No, I didn't, but don't delete it. Send it to me." He snapped, I blinked twice, he sounded as if he was running or something. A strange feeling of premonition swept over me.

"Something's wrong." I said.

"Haibara...damn!" Shinichi hissed, and I heard silence for a moment before he picked up the phone again. "They got Haibara Iggy."

No. No. No.

Impossible, not today. Not right when I left her. My heart froze, and my fingers let go of the phone.

"They took her Iggy, Iggy?" Shinichi's voice was fading as the phone fell away from me, and my heart was breaking into a million pieces as my wings snapped shut and I fell into a free fall.

* * *

_**Oh noes!**_

_**Shiho's in trouble! **_

_**GAH! -faints-**_

_**I seriously cried during every one of Iggy's goodbyes. X3 I always do when I write sad stuff, because I get so into the character that I kind of feel like they do at that moment...so of course I bawled my eyes out like a child. **_

_**Lord if I ended it here I'm almost positive everyone would hate me. Wouldn't that just be the worst? For me to be like, it's all done now. No more fanfic, Iggy left. X3**_

_**Reviews are loved...**_


	28. The Code and Nightmares

_Disclaimer:_

_Don't own anything, except the code of course. And Scotch, he's mine too. :3_

_**I'm so excited! **_

_**Oh, yeah, I just can't hide it!**_

_**Really, this is just starting to get all heated up! So many things are going to happen in the coming chapters!**_

_**I can't wait! -dances-**_

_**SPECIAL NOTE: 'Seven Children' is a song that is sung in Japan. It's very old about crows...and such X3 Anyways, the Boss of the Black Organization's mail address sounds like this song when they type it into a phone.**_

_**Em Phantom- I'm glad...not because you were almost crying, but because an author's goal is to get people to feel. You felt, so I did my job! -pats self on back- I'm glad you thought it was a nice twist. You get to see what happens next...mmm...now...if you read on that is. X3**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- X3 The title was meant to do that actually. -cackles evilly- Yeah, because Iggy was hurting and they didn't know what to say at him, that's why things were so quiet. Poor Iggy...Will the phone break? You'll have to see. X3 Kaito? He has his own role to play in these next chapters, yes...Iggy heard Scotch sneeze while he was down in the coffee shop, I should have elaborated on that fact. -coughs- Here's the next chapter :3**_

_**

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_Chapter Twenty-eight- The Code and Nightmares_

"IGGY!" Everyone screamed above me, Shinichi too, and I barely snapped out of it in time to grab my phone and snap my wings open before I became bird-kid scrambled egg on the earth below. My breathing was hitched, and I landed a little awkwardly. I had a hard time holding onto the phone.

"They got her?" I growled, "Where? When? Where the hell were YOU?"

"At HOME." Shinichi shot back, "Hakase came home and saw a black car driving away. There was a man wearing dark clothing in the front. When he couldn't find Haibara he was able to put enough of it together. I know it's Them...I can just feel it Iggy. There was some evidence of a cell phone being broken here, and I thought...I don't know why I thought it, but I had to see if you were sent something."

"I'm coming there." I said, "I'll send the code to you so that you can start thinking about it ahead of time. But Shinichi, don't do a damned thing until I get there. I'm going to be the one to save her...because...because...I should have never left in the first place."

I hung up, and shoved the phone at Dylan. "Send Shinichi that message I was sent earlier. Don't you dare delete it, if you do then I'll kick your ass for being an idiot."

"What happened?" Total asked quietly.

"They got ahold of Shiho." I snarled, not at him but at the thought of Them taking her so easily. Damn it all! Wasn't she the freaking careful one? Wasn't she the one that could supposedly sense Their prescence? What the hell happened to all of that? Total whined in sympathy.

"That's the girl you like right...oh no." Nudge muttered, sounding horrified.

"We've got a few questions to think of." Gazzy said, "First, why did somebody who is part of a group that almost always kills just take her like that, because kidnappings are really hard to cover up. Second, is she even alive now? Third, how in the world did he know Iggy's number when it's so new? Fourth...why are you still here?"

"I'm waiting for Dylan to finish up with my phone." I said, "Then I'm going back. I'll have to meet up with Shinichi...damn, I didn't ask him where he was at the moment. In hindsight that would have been a good question to ask. Away from the agency I'd assume, he doesn't want Ran to get all mixed up in this that's for sure."

"It'll be faster if I carry you." Max said, grabbing me as soon as Dylan sent the message. I let out a small yelp of protest but she snorted, and conked me upside the head with her fist. "Don't be an idiot. We're a family, didn't I just get finished telling you that? Even if it's dangerous...I'm not letting just one of us deal with something like this."

Dylan handed me my phone, "We'll catch up."

Then Max and I took off at a speed I've never even imagined going before.

* * *

"Down there!" Someone shouted, making Shinichi tear his eyes away from the screen of his cell phone. Max landed with Iggy next to her, she gave him a quick nod and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, do you have any idea where she was taken? Is that what the code is for?"

"I don't know." Shinichi stated, he was honestly having a hard time getting his thoughts to slow down enough to think clearly. When it was the organization they were dealing with he always had some ridiculous problem concentrating the way he usually would. Which was, in all honesty, the absolute worst time for something like that to ever happen.

"Why aren't you using the tracking glasses to follow her?" Iggy yelled, looking ready to smack him. Shinichi shook his head, barely remembering that the blind boy couldn't see the motion anyways. It didn't matter, because Max was informing him of the action before Shinichi could do anything to explain it. "What the hell do you mean!"

"I tripped, and fell." Shinichi explained, "The tracker's broken, and the spare is out of batteries."

Iggy said some very colorful English words. One that began with an F and ended in a K, and it certainly wasn't the word fire truck.

He gestured for them to follow him into Agasa's house. Iggy stepped inside, and followed Shinichi over to the couch. The blind boy blinked a few times before asking, "Where is Agasa-hakase?"

Even now, in this desperate situation Shinichi found himself staring at the blind kid with a mixture of awe and surprise in his eyes. How was it that he could tell somebody wasn't in a room when he couldn't see he wondered? "He took the Detective Boys out into the mountains. They saw the car, so I'm worried that they might get involved."

"Yeah, I can see how that would work." Iggy said. Shinichi sat down on the couch, writing the code that was sent to him down on a piece of paper so he could look at it better.

_**38-18-c28-14-24-10**_

_**h46-16-30-24-10**_

_**46-j18-24-24**_

_**40-36-d10-10**_

_**b2**_

_**12-30-i36-10-38-40**_

_**12-18-36-f10**_

_**4-k42-36-28**_

_**g40-16-10**_

_**18-a12**_

_**6-2-40-6-e16-10-38**_

"That looks...really random." Max said, staring at the paper in front of Shinichi. Shinichi nodded his head. He had figured out that much as well.

The most obvious thing that grabbed his attention almost immediately was the fact that every number was even. Thus they were all divisible by two. If he did that all the numbers fell between one and twenty-six. Which was to say, the code could be broken down into letters of the alphabet.

That WOULD work, if it wasn't for the fact that there were already letters of the alphabet thrown into the code. He would have considered this as something random, done to throw him off of the original trail, but he couldn't believe that. No, every single line had only one letter in the alphabet.

Max was reading off the code to Iggy who looked to be just about as confused as Shinichi felt at the moment. There was a pause before Iggy muttered, "Total was right though, they all are even numbers. Did you try dividing them by two?"

"Yes, and that could mean I should change the numbers to letters." Shinichi screwed his eyes shut though and heaved a sigh through his nose, "But that would mean me completely disregarding the letters that are already in the code."

"Do you think Shiho sent it? The code I mean." Iggy asked. Shinichi shook his head, which Max muttered was his reaction. Oops, he forgot Iggy was blind again. The shrunken detective coughed and heaved a sigh.

"I think he used her phone to do it, and noticed your number. It wasn't a member, by what the Hakase described, that I recognize. Which means it must be that one that picked you up the one day. If he's been tailing you, then he'd have spotted her at the school." Shinichi frowned, his pencil tapping his bottom lip. "Hold on..."

"I'm going to go ahead and convert the numbers to letters. Let's see...that makes the first line..." Shinichi scrambled down a quick key, before he glanced back and forth between the numbers and the key he had. His words were written quickly, and after a moment he had finished...sort of.

_**SINGCLE**_

_**HWHOLE**_

_**WJILL**_

_**TRDEE**_

_**BA**_

_**FOIREST**_

_**FIRFE**_

_**BKURN**_

_**GTHE**_

_**IAF**_

_**CATCEHES**_

"Oh yeah, it's all clear now." Max stated, unhelpfully. Shinichi glared at her over his shoulder, and turned back to the paper. Really, this seemed to be just gibberish, but if you were to take the extra letters out from earlier then they were actual words. Actual words that made no sense really but..."Look, I'm going to get the Flock together until you've gotten everything in order. We'll meet you back here."

The girl left, but her words had been a bit of an inspiration to the small detective.

"Order...order..." Shinichi murmured. Eyes scanning the code quickly, and looking back at what he had. Yes! That was what the extra letters were for! The words, they weren't in the right order! So it was a simple matter of switching the words around by alphabatizing the lines of the code based on the letters originally within the numbers.

_Organize them...alphabetically_. Shinichi thought, erasing and switching the words around. He leaned back, the code was now a phrase, one that didn't seem to fit anything but it made Shinichi's heart freeze.

Almost as if someone possessed him to do it he read the words aloud, "_If a single tree catches fire, the whole forest will burn."_

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Iggy stated in an irritable way. "Did they take her to a forest? Are they going to burn her? This doesn't change anything, it doesn't help anything."

Shinichi was leaping off the couch. His heart was hammering, his head was spinning. He grabbed for the phone and dialed the number quickly. No answer. He slammed the phone down and ran for the door. Panic was making him nearly sick to his stomach. No, how could he have been so damned stupid!

"Shinichi! Where are you going! Damn it! Don't do this thing where you don't say anything to me again, I mean it!" Iggy yelled. Shinichi froze and then practically tore the door off it's hinges getting outside.

"Ran! It means Ran! Don't you get it!" Shinichi yelled over his shoulder, "It's saying that those that are close to us are doomed! SHIT!"

At the last moment he remembered the Hakase's invention, a solar powered skateboard that would let him reach the house far faster than running. Shinichi grabbed it from where it was sitting at the edge of the sidewalk before hopping on. Iggy scrambled behind him, and he waited impatiently for the blind kid to clamber aboard.

"What's-" Iggy began, but Shinichi didn't want to explain the invention to his friend.

"Hold on." He snapped, and shoved his foot against the button that activated the board. The thing hummed with energy an instant before lurching forward, and even on the speedy powered skateboard Shinichi didn't feel as if he still wasn't going fast enough. He opened his cellphone and began to dial.

_**

* * *

**_

Ran sighed as she opened the door to the agency. Her father hadn't been in the upstairs apartment, so Ran had to assume he had gotten himself drunk and passed out in the office. Swinging open the door the teenaged girl gazed around the room and blinked. Her father wasn't here.

However he had left a massive mess. With a tired sigh the girl moved forward to pick up the bottles of beer that littered the floor. She pulled a garbage from behind the desk and pushed the cans that covered the surface into it. She jumped suddenly in startlement, her cellphone was ringing.

A quick glance at the number and she flipped the cellphone open, "Hello Conan-kun." She said, wincing slightly when a shard of glass cut her finger. Ran narrowed her eyes as she lifted the broken bottle.

"Ran!" Conan's yell startled her, for one thing he sounded completely panicked yet incredibly relieved at the same time. For another, he had completely dropped off the formality to her name. Then there was the fact that when his voice was this low...he eerily reminded her of her missing detective at the moment. "Get out of the agency now! You have to leave!"

"Conan-kun calm down." Ran said, sticking her finger in her mouth after observing her cut. She picked up the broken bottle, and a frown creased her features. Her father was a pig, but really to leave a broken bottle around was just dangerous. "Why do I have to get out?"

"Go to Sonoko's. Take Oji-san with you." Conan growled, "And stay there, do you understand me?"

Was she being ordered around by a little kid. Ran pursed her lips and gave out an irritable sigh. Still, part of her wanted to follow Conan's advice. He had, more than once, proved to be very observant in situations. Usually he knew what he was talking about when dangerous things were involved.

"Okay Conan-kun." She said softly, deciding that it would be best to follow his words. Ran ran up the stairs, cradling her phone to her ear. "I'm just going to call Sonoko and let her know I'm coming."

"There's no time damn it!" Conan yelled at her urgently, "Get out, get out now!"

"Conan-kun!" Ran said, appalled at the usually polite boy using such a horrible word. It was cold outside, she'd at least need her coat. The girl opened the door to the closet, and her eyes stretched wide in surprise.

"I'm sorry, but you have to get out! It's not safe, you're in danger..." Conan's voice tinnied at her from the phone, but Ran hardly heard. Because there was a strange man in the closet, with a gun shoved against Kogoro's bleeding temple. "Ran? Ran!"

"Don't be afraid to hang up on him." The man purred, his finger seemed to tighten slightly on the trigger. Ran knew, with all of her heart, that even if she lunged at him he would fire and kill her father before she got the chance. "I promise, I won't kill him if you move to do that."

"RAN!" Conan's scream startled her slightly, and she clicked the phone shut. He didn't need to hear this, to even slightly witness what could possibly go wrong in this situation. She slid into a defensive position, a karate stance that came as something more instinctual than anything else.

"Let him go." She ordered, her father never looked so helpless before. His face was covered in blood, and she would have thought he was dead if it wasn't for the fact that his chest was rising and falling ever so slightly. The man laughed at her, clearly enjoying the situation.

"You're not in that kind of a situation darling." He said to her, eyes glittering with mirth. "You see, even as fast as you are...even as skilled at karate as you are...you cannot possibly reach me in the amount of time it'll take me to simply tighten my finger on this trigger. Even if you are only a few meters away, and if you step any closer I won't hesitate to kill him."

"What do you want?" Ran asked, fury radiating through her core and into her very words. A smile curved the man's lips.

"I want to play a little game with that detective you love so much." He purred, and before Ran could react something stung her arm. She found herself staring at a small wristwatch that he held in his hands. He laughed in amusement as she stumbled to her knees, her head was swimming with clouds. "You can thank him for that, by the way. He shouldn't leave such interesting little toys just lying around..."

* * *

I could tell the line went dead. My hearing was keen enough to have been able to hear what Ran was saying on the other line. Shinichi's screaming made me wince. He stopped the instant the line fell silent, the horror radiating through him so completely that I felt it too.

We hauled down the street, people were forced to dive out of the way because Shinichi didn't give a flying rat's ass about anyone but Ran at the moment. I can't say that I blamed him, really, recalling how I felt when I'd figured out that Shiho had been kidnapped. He was muttering, over and over, like a sort of mantra, "She's strong. She's strong. She's strong..."

It sounded only like he was trying to convince himself. Yes, Ran was strong, but even strength couldn't do much against a bullet.

It seemed to take hours to reach the agency, when really it must have been somewhere around eight minutes or so. We hit the curb and both of us went flying, me without any warning. Shinichi was already running by the time that I'd registered the fact that my face had just made best friends with the concrete.

Holding my now bleeding nose I scrambled to my feet and followed him up the stairs. Shinichi was already tearing out of the agency by the time I'd reached it, and was heading for the apartment at the top of the stairs. He threw the door open and it slammed into the wall with a bang that I'm sure the coffee shop downstairs heard.

I knew Ran wasn't in the room. I could feel it, and I think Shinichi knew it too...but that didn't stop him from running through the house and screaming her name. He slammed open the closet door, and I had to scramble back to avoid being crushed by an unconscious Mouri Kogoro.

As I stepped back my foot landed on something. I bent down and picked it up, fingers darting over it as my brain struggled to identify what the object was. A watch? Shinichi's watch...my stomach lurched.

"Where is she?" Shinichi was shouting, probably trying to rouse the unconscious man. "Oji-san! Wake up! Where is Ran!"

"Shinichi..." I said softly, he whirled on me like a dog that was ready to bite. I didn't know what to say, so I just extended my hand, held the watch out to him. "Do you think...that...that maybe They knocked her out with this? That way they could take her...you know, even..."

Silence, stunned silence. I didn't like this quiet Shinichi who wasn't rushing to do something. It disturbed me greatly that he wasn't shoving me out of the way so he could try and track them or something. I grabbed him by the shoulders, "Shinichi, what the hell are we going to do next?"

"The code...didn't tell us anything." Shinichi spoke slowly, as if he was waking up from a dream. Damn it all! He wasn't any use if he was going to be stuck in this state of shock. I considered smacking him for a moment before I thought of something else. The code, that was important. I could drag him out if it using that.

"You need to call Hattori." I said, my voice serious and calm. I shook him slightly, until I was certain that I had his attention. "Did you hear me? Call Hattori right away. Do you have some way to get ahold of the Hakase? You need to call him too, and warn him to stay away from any suspicious people."

"Right." Shinichi said, moving instantly. I knelt down next to Kogoro, trying to find the spot where his head was bleeding. He probably needed an ambulance too. I opened my mouth to say as much, but Shinichi had already done that. After giving the address he hung up and called for Hattori.

I would have been relieved that he seemed to be in a more active state of mind, but things were looking pretty shitty at the moment for me to feel something like that.

_**

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**_

Scotch wondered if they had figured out the code quite yet. Wasn't that the plan of things though? Because he had that bug hooked up the the shrunken detective's phones. Finding out who exactly was involved was just a matter of waiting for them to call those people, and warn them about possible coming trouble.

The man wouldn't deal with them himself, that was just some information to give to That Person when the right time came for it. Scotch watched as the numbers were dialed closely, memorizing them. It would be easy to track, in the end. He himself pulled out his own cellphone.

"Seven Children" chimed into the dark car. The two girls would be unconscious for awhile, and even with that they were both tied up very securely. Scotch glanced into the back through the rearview mirror as the line was picked up. The cold voice on the other end did not deterr him.

"What business do you have?" The words were spoken coolly.

"I have that drink you've been looking for." Scotch said, eyes tracing the face of the shrunken girl, "I have Sherry."

Silence on the other line for a moment, before, "You did not get rid of it, like I ordered?"

"I was wondering if you would want the honor yourself." Scotch said, he knew he was treading on broken glass here. A smile curved his lips, "And then there's the matter of what Gin missed..."

"Missed?" Came the reply, the altered voice was a bit eerie but Scotch wasn't going to make that cause him to hung up or sound afraid. He heard it, even in that altered state, the interest in that tone for what he had just said. Failure was not easily forgiven, but neither was doing things your own way as Scotch had done. He would just have to pray that That Person would be angrier with Gin. Which was more likely, after all, letting Kudou Shinichi live with knowledge of Them...

It was unforgivable.

* * *

When we got back to the Hakase's, after Shinichi had called Hattori and Agasa himself, Max and the rest of the Flock landed in the front lawn. They rushed inside the house, and stood frozen for a moment because Shinichi was just pacing back and forth while I was sitting on the couch.

"We cracked the code." I said, my eyes narrowing slightly.

"Something tells me that isn't good news." Max said nervously. I merely handed her the note, and let her show it to the rest of the Flock. Angel murmured a quick explanation to, probably sensing that asking Shinichi would not be a good idea at the moment. I shoved my hands in my pockets, and shut my eyes.

"Left no trail." Shinichi said, "I looked everywhere."

He had, after snapping out of it, after calling the other's, he'd scoured that place more thoroughly and quickly than he had done anything before. He ended up walking all over the place about five times, before I had to force him to leave unless we wanted to get stuck talking with the police.

"Did that other detective guy have anything to help?" Gazzy asked, trying to bring back some hope into the room. Shinichi hadn't given up, I knew, but he wasn't getting anywhere either and everyone could sense that.

"He's on something of a standby I think." I said, "Just in case his help is needed. Personally, I'm glad that he got on that train today. If he was here I think it just would have made things more complicated. I don't want anymore of my friends to be in danger than there are already."

"Wait, like, earlier you guys totally mentioned something!" Nudge said, "You were talking to me, and I mentioned how I can hack almost anything. You said you wanted me to look up something Shinichi-kun. Now would be like...the perfect time to do that. Since basically everything has been blown out of the water anyways..."

"That's what I don't understand." Shinichi growled, "They know who I am. They must, or why would they have just taken Ran? So why didn't they take me? I'm not that hard to kidnap right now..."

"Um...I don't know, but about that thing I said earlier..." Nudge trailed off.

"Yes, you can hack things." Shinichi said, bringing out his phone and quickly dialing a number. It was strangely lyrical, as if it were made from some sort of song. He must have handed it to Nudge because he was saying, "Is it possible that you can track that mail address?"

"No problem." Nudge replied, running over to the basment and heading down the stairs. We followed after her and waited as she got on the computer that Shiho usually occupied. There was a pause as she turned on the screen, and a nervous laugh escaped her mouth.

"What?" Shinichi asked, "Is something preventing you from doing it?"

"No...it's not that." Nudge said, "It's just that...um...well maybe this is just going to make things worse than they already are, but it looks like she found the antidote. Or, that's what she seemed to have figured out from what this file here is saying to me. It says, like, that it needs to be tested but she was pretty sure that this was the last trial she would need to run..."

"That doesn't matter at the moment." Shinichi said, though he seemed to have grabbed something from beside the computer. He walked over to stand next to me before continuing, "What matters is their lives. If you think you might accidentally delete it or something copy it to a disc, but don't dwelve on this for the moment. We need to hurry up and figure out where this leader is hiding...so I can take them down."

"Okay." Nudge replied, before beginning to rapidly type on the screen. "This won't take very long Shinichi-kun."

"What have you got?" I asked him, curious.

"Temporary antidote, there is only one pill...is it alright if I take it? I want to be at my strongest when I'm facing these guys, and stuck in this pathetic excuse for a body isn't going to give me enough strength." Shinichi's voice had hardened towards the end of his sentence. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It hardly worked an hour for me, the last time that I took it." I said with another shrug of my shoulders. "But it's going to be harder for you to sneak in there if you happen to be a teenager instead of a little boy."

"It's going to be hard anyways." Shinichi stated.

"Got it!" Nudge said, "Wow, that was like...way harder than I thought it would be. I had to go through all of these fire walls and stuff, and there was this thing that almost started tracking where we were at this moment. I think it like, totally makes the computer blow up or something, and I'm not even exagerrating. I got it though, it looks like something out in the middle of nowhere though, it's not in Beika itself, but outside of it."

"Then we head for that place." Shinichi ordered, "After I take some medicine. You guys get ready to go, find anything you can use as a weapon. I'll be right back."

_**

* * *

**_

Kaito walked to the Nakamori house all the time. It was getting to be a bit late, but the television at home had gone on the fritz. He was bored, and knew that Aoko wouldn't really care all that much if he dropped in unnoticed for a little bit. The magician grinned as he walked up the sidewalk.

His hand hovered over the doorknob, something like an instinct made him aware that...something was wrong. The house seemed terribly quiet, and as he hurled the door open he found his heart pounding like mad. It was empty, strangely empty. Not a sound was to be heard.

"Aoko?" He asked worry turning his blood to ice for a moment. "Hello? Is anybody home, or did you guys just...decided to go on vacation very randomly or something?"

Kaito's laugh sounded fragile and pathetic in the darkness. A lie, an obvious one. The magician felt his heart sieze as he picked up a small piece of paper that was left on the table-top. He picked it up, a file on himself? The teen relaxed slightly as he opened it up, scanning through the pages without really seeing them.

"You're not as bright as they think you are." The voice startled him badly, and he dropped the file on the table. Kaito spun to face the woman from the mall, with her long blonde hair and cold eyes. "Really, Kuroba-kun, it didn't occurr to you, even for one second, that we already knew who the new Kaitou Kid was?"

Silence, he didn't reply, only stood as still as stone as he stared at the woman with as much anger as he could possibly muster. She yawned, looking slightly bored as she leaned against the opposite wall. She held no gun, no weapon that she could reach very quickly.

"Didn't you wonder how you took something so precious so easily? It's because it wouldn't be very hard to get it away from you, that's why. It's just a small bump in the road, something that could even be considered entertaining to us I suppose." She looked up at Kaito, "After all, as I said earlier, we already knew who you were. Are you curious as to why?"

"We killed your father." She said, leaning forward with eyes that glittered with malice, "And because of that we learned his identity. Nobody refuses to help the organization and lives...he was just lucky that we didn't kill his family along with him. When another Kid resurfaced...it wasn't hard to put two and two together. Not hard at all, and when we got ahold of that little helper of yours that only confirmed things."

"What have you done with Jii-san?" Kaito said, voice as cold as ice. Was his father's old friend and assistant now dead because of him? He knew that Jii-san would never have given him away, not even if he was tortured. The woman's lips curved into a very amused looking smile.

"You are not the only one who is a master of disguise, Kid-sama." She replied coyly, eyes hardening. "The old man didn't look so good, not after we shot him in the face anyways...but aren't you worried about that little girlfriend of yours? You know, we are standing right in the middle of her house."

"Tell me where she is." Not a question, a demand. Kaito was not the type that relied on violence, he did the opposite. He was a pacifist, but now he could truly understand how a person could begin to want to kill somebody. They'd killed Jii-sama...and They had his best friend.

That is, if They hadn't killed her.

"You can get her back, it's just a simple matter of you returning the jewel to us." The woman tossed a piece of paper to Kaito, who just let the slip float lazily to the ground. A smile curved her lips, a venomous smile. "Come to that place with the jewel, and you will get your beloved returned to you. If you do not come on time, if you are even a minute late, you'll find her lovely little body with no head."

Kaito trembled with the urge to over take this woman, to do something to harm her. The person who never wanted to hurt somebody before was fighting with the want to murder. He was angrier than he ever had been before in his entire life. He hissed out through clenched teeth, "It's been destroyed."

"Oh, do not lie to me Kuroba-kun." She said loftily, looking at her fingernails. "You've been trying to find a way to break it, but you've failed so far. And if this Aoko girl isn't as important to you as we think, then after we kill her we'll just capture another classmate of yours, or perhaps your mother."

Kaito turned on his heel to leave, but she called after him, freezing him in place with her words.

"There are snipers at your home. If you say anything to your mother we'll kill her in an instant. Don't think that your little magic tricks could save her either. We expect you to complete your transaction at the requested time, Kid-sama. Maybe if you're a good boy we won't hurt your little friend at all." She gave him a cold smile, before leaving him to stand in the empty home of his good friend.

* * *

_**End of this chapter!**_

_**GYAA! Stop getting kidnapped people! **_

_**Poor Jii-sama, I didn't even write him out. Just said he got killed, it makes me kinda sad but...**_

_**This is the BO guys, you can't expect everyone to get away alive. (Yes, that means Streakzy's going to be killing people in the next few chapters, she's sorry but it has to be done...or will she have the heart to do it?)**_

_**Almost killed Kogoro too, but I didn't have the heart. X3**_

_**Oh, and if you're wondering at the code here is how you break it...**_

_**First you divide all the numbers by two.**_

_**Then you should get numbers all between one and twenty-six.**_

_**After that you match each letter with it's corresponding number, in the order it appears.**_

_**Example; 1-A, 2-B, 3-C etc. etc.**_

_**Then you take the left over numbers that were originally in the code to begin with, and alphabatize the lines.**_

_**So the line that had the 'a' already within the code would be the first line.**_

_**See? It can actually be broken. :3**_

_**I randomly came up with it at around two in the morning the other day...and thought it would be cool to throw this in here just to distract Shinichi for a chapter or so. (I also thought it was a neat way to introduce the fact that Ran was in danger as well...)**_

_**2-b36-10**_

_**c2-32-32-36-10-6-18-2-40-10-8**_

_**36-10-44-a18-10-46-38**_

_**(Reviews Are Appreciated)**_


	29. The Coming Storm

_Disclaimer:_

_I own nothing but plot sturfs :3_

_**Guess what! Guess what! **_

_**I was accepted at the college I wanted! YAY! **_

_**You have no idea how very happy I am about that! Dillon, here I come! -strikes pose-**_

_**I'm going to get an English Major, so then I can do what I've always dreamed. Which is, of course, to become an author :3**_

_**Perhaps one day you'll read one of my books. X3**_

_**Em Phantom- Thank you. I've found out (quite by accident) that her character is pretty easy for me to write. I didn't expect to be able to have her come so naturally to me. But I'm glad for it anyways. She's so complex, but a ton of fun to write. I added the thing with her on the phone with Conan to...heighten the urgency? He kinda signifies the audience of a scary movie telling the heroine not to open the closet door. XP**_

_**Taromaru- -cackles- I am a bit on the evil side, aren't I? I really love making the baddies do what they're best at. Which is to say, murder and all that jazz. X3**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- -breaks code- Huzzah! This was awesome. Made my day, I was bragging about it in the c-box at one of the websites I go to, just so you're aware of that. :3 I'm glad I didn't either. I even wrote out his whole death scene, and made myself cry. I just couldn't bring myself to post it though. I'm glad you think it rocks, I was pretty proud of it.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Chapter Twenty-nine- The Coming Storm_

I found myself scowling as I sat on Agasa's couch. My heart was hammering in my chest. My hands were shaking. Everything was moving too slowly. If I had the ability to see I would have been glancing impatiently towards the basement door. Really, how long was Shinichi planning on taking?

"Calm down." Max said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I don't think he's taking his sweet time. If he's not coming down yet it's because he either thought of something or he can't."

"It's painful." I admitted, remembering changing into this smaller me and my brief return as my normal self. No, it wasn't just painful. That was agony. In fact, it made me a bit leery of having to take the permanent antidote. I was certain that it would hurt, and if I had known that the temporary one was as painful as the poison itself I wouldn't have bothered taking it in the first place.

"Really?" Gazzy said, sounding a little surprised. "I thought...I don't know, that maybe you just took it and poof..."

"Poof?" I said, any other circumstance would have had me smiling a little at that. I was still too worried about Shiho though. I found myself tightening my fists, "No...it was more like I was being burned alive. Melted...maybe even worse."

I had a sudden pang of strange longing go through me. Wasn't this where Shiho would more accurately describe her poison? I ran my hands through my hair, gritting my teeth and cursing under my breath. Really, now I was missing her cold side too? The sooner we got her here safely the better. I was starting to weird myself out.

"If it's as bad as you say...and Shinichi-kun has actually taken it before..." Nudge trailed off. I could sense them all looking to the closed door. She swallowed.

"He must really love her." Angel commented softly.

"I hope she never finds out." Nudge said quietly. I blinked in confusion as she added, "That it hurts I mean. If she found out that he was putting himself in so much pain just to see her, or to save her even...well if somebody I really liked did something like that for me I'd feel badly for putting them in that situation."

I remained silent for a few moments, not knowing what to say to that unusually serious comment. Everyone was quiet as well, but it wasn't really uncomfortable. It was a reflecting silence, as if everyone was thinking about that. After a moment Max coughed into her hand, and I inwardly winced.

We were complete morons, talking about relationships like that after what had happened with Fang.

Luckily we were interrupted by the door cracking open behind us. Everyone practically shoved me off of the couch to look. Grumbling irritably at them I stood up and rubbed my head. Really, you'd think that in a situation like this they wouldn't be tossing their curiosity around so obviously.

"Oh wow..." Nudge breathed. I blinked, wondering what THAT was about.

"He looks a lot like Kaito-kun." Dylan commented, "Only his hair is much nicer, ne?"

Shinichi let out an awkward sound, that I can't even really name, before walking over to me. "Here, Iggy, I want you to take the bow-tie and super kick shoes. You might need them, you never know...and this, the stungun wristwatch as well. I put another needle back in it, but there's only one shot so use it wisely."

I blinked, startled a bit by just how much more confident he sounded now, even with the strain in his voice after the quick change. Not to mention the change in his voice. Inwardly I laughed at my own stupidity. Of course he would sound different. He was seventeen now. I took the watch, and graced him with the arching of one of my eyebrows, "That's all well and good, but don't you think you should keep the watch? You have no weapons yourself, and besides that I can't even SEE...what point is there to holding a watch that shoots something like a needle."

"I'll be fine." Shinichi stated, "I'm keeping the soccerball belt for myself."

"Oi, oi..." I said, but I fastened the watch on my wrist anyways. I suppose if somebody got close enough I could get them for sure. I felt a chill creep up my spine. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case.

"Like...why are you two talking like you're the only two who are going to come in contact with people?" Nudge said, her suspicious tone causing both Shinichi and I to stiffen. Shinichi stood up straight after that, I could tell he was looking very somber even without the ability to see.

"That's because we're the only ones that are going to get to where they're holding Ran and Haibara." Shinichi commented, before anybody had a chance to protest he stopped them. "Listen, don't argue with me on this. If a ton of people storm the place they'll kill us all in one strike. It has to be quick, and it has to be sneaky."

"We could come in from above though." Dylan protested, "They wouldn't be expecting something like that."

"No, one of the people that got ahold of me once knew I was with the Flock." I interrupted, "They're going to be thinking of the sky, for sure. Besides, I don't want to put you guys in more danger than necessary, don't interrupt Max, I'll explain what I mean. Because...realistically..."

"They might already be dead." Angel said in a cold voice. Shinichi and I both tensed, my stomach twisting into sickening little knots. I didn't want to consider that, "Ne? After all, these guys don't usually keep them alive...and if they really have been taken to the boss..."

"There is another reason." Shinichi snapped, "Something I'm going to need you guys for. It's important, so that the people we'll call as reinforcements don't get hurt."

"Reinforcements?" I queried, this was the first I'd heard of that.

"Yes." Shinichi stated, "Though I won't call them until we get the girls. I'm going to get ahold of the police and the FBI. The reason I have to wait until we are there is because they'll try and storm the place, and or have a stake out. They are too careful to pull something like that...They'll notice something is off for sure and kill Ran and Haibara on the spot."

"Fine." Max stated, surprising me and everybody else. "Oh stop looking at me like that all of you. It makes sense to go against these people with a plan. Everybody is going to need their own roles to play in the future events. I'm assuming Shinichi-kun has somebody who is going to contact the police, ne? You won't be directly contacting them will you?"

"I've already set that up with Hattori." Shinichi replied. He coughed into his hand and added, "But...erm, that wasn't exactly why I was a little surprised at that Max-san."

"You understood all that he said, even though he was talking in Japanese?" Gazzy asked.

"I whispered the words to her." Total barked, making Max laugh a little nervously.

"Jeez..." I said, rolling my eyes. "Anyways, beyond that Shinichi...don't you think that you should bring along some Conan clothes with you? Just in case we get a little crunched for time. You don't want your movements hindered in a place like that because you've got clothing that's too big for you."

"Yeah..." Shinichi said, "But...chances are if it DOES come to that They'll just kill me while I'm shrinking. It's not exactly easy to move when that's happening..."

"Right, let's not think of the worst case scenario with that situation just yet please." Nudge said, sounding nervous. "I'm, like, already super worried about the both of you. If you go in there thinking that you're going to die then that's exactly what's going to happen. You have to be like...confident."

"We'll do that then, Nudge-san." Shinichi said. Nudge giggled a bit and I rolled my eyes. Of all the times to develop a crush on somebody she picked now to do it...and that was a rather helpless case as well. What with Shinichi's swooning over Ran...

* * *

Heiji felt like his heart was going to beat it's way out of his chest. But this wasn't a good feeling, it was a distinct slightly paranoid sensation that had descended on the Osakan detective. He found his eyes darting all over the place, found himself tensing at the sight of dark colors.

Really, if this was how Kudou felt all the time he didn't know how his friend survived without having a coronary.

What was that idiot thinking? Sending a message like this? All it even said was that They had somehow discovered who he was. They had Haibara, and They had Ran. They were targetting other people, the ones close to him. Which meant that Heiji was probably in danger. Heiji and Kazuha both.

It also told him, because of how vague that the message was, that Kudou didn't know much about what had happened yet. He wasn't sure if Heiji WAS being targetted, or who would even be doing the targetting. Was it a sniper? Or an assassin? Heiji found himself squirming with anticipation.

"Heiji?" Kazuha asked, looking at him in worry. Leave it to her, to find out that something was on his mind. She had the chipmunk cupped in her hands, and but her eyes were fixed on him. "Are you alright?"

He hesitated, suddenly longing to tell her. If only to make things more safe for her...but then...if he was to be overpowered he could always save Kazuha by letting the assailant know that she had nothing to do with the situation. That was putting her life in the hands of somebody he would NOT trust though.

The young man leaned forward, "Kazuha...no, things aren't alright." Heiji glanced over his shoulder before giving her a small smile, "I can't explain much...it's really not for me to say. But I want ya to do me a favor and help me keep a look out for trouble. Please, be ready to run in case somethin' bad happens."

If she got hurt...all because he wouldn't leave Kudou he would never forgive himself.

Not because Kudou didn't need back up. His rival would do well to realize that he needed help every now and again, but because it would be Heiji's fault if Kazuha had been dragged into this. That was what made the desperation flash in his eyes, and that was what made Kazuha not argue with him. He knew she was a proud girl. He knew she was strong.

But he'd be damned if she was even scratched because of this.

_**

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**_

Ran's head was throbbing. She couldn't talk, because there was a gag in her mouth. It tasted foul, and smelled of mildew. The girl shut her eyes, fighting the automatic gag reflex that rose within her. Where was she? What had happened? Her thoughts struggled to fall into some sort of order.

A car. She was moving. Ran could tell that her hands were bound together behind her back, and that her feet were also tied tightly. She was lying in the backseat, and found herself looking at the back of the head of a man.

The closet, that's where she had seen him before. Was her father okay? Worry stabbed through Ran.

She was worried about her father when she was bound and gagged in the backseat of a stranger's car. That was Ran for you. The karate champion had a way of caring for other's over herself first. The girl let her eyes roam the interior of the dark car she was in, careful not to move too much and draw attention from the driver.

_Ai-chan..._She thought, surprise coursing through her. Why was the little girl here? Why was Ran here, for that matter? She let her eyes dart to their capture, wondering what he wanted with them both. It couldn't be a coincidence that they both were taken when they knew each other...that was what Shinichi would say.

Shinichi, he would be able to save her wouldn't he? Hope flared through her. If there was anyone in the world that could find somebody it was him, wasn't it? She should have thought of leaving him some clues about her capture or something...but then she had been knocked out.

Something occurred to her suddenly, and her heart started hammering in her chest. Slowly she inched her fingers towards her back pocket, praying that it had somehow been missed by the kidnapper. Her index finger touched the strap on her cellphone, and Ran almost cried from the sheer relief.

Slowly, carefully, she pulled it out and managed to flip the top open. Trying to stay discreet she glanced over her shoulders and tapped at the buttons. The car slid to a halt, causing her to freeze in her message. The man was staying still, staring out the window for a moment at what appeared to be a building.

Ran typed in everything she could see in the message. She craned her neck, searching for the number to send it to. The man in the front seat coughed, making Ran jump. Her finger pressed against the send button, and her mail message suddenly vanished from the screen. Ran stiffened, staring at it in horror.

Had she sent it to Shinichi or somebody else?

"Ah, so you're awake." The man in the front said, making Ran turn her head sharply in his direction. Her heart slammed against her chest, and she couldn't help but look over at Ai. The little girl wasn't moving...was she dead? "She's fine. She just got something a little stronger than you did that's all."

Ran glared.

"Oh, don't be that way." The man said, "You're lucky you aren't dead yet..."

Why? Why would this man want to kill her? What had she ever done to deserve being murdered by somebody she had never met before. Ran stared at him blankly, watching him as he got out of the car and opened her door. Hastily, terrified he'd catch her with the phone and do something horrible to her or Ai because of it, she shoved it down into the crack of the seat.

"Or should I say, that I'm lucky you aren't dead yet?" He almost purred it, something like amusement flashing in his eyes. He opened his cellphone, looking at it before giving her a sickening grin. "At first it was all about taking down Gin, but that detective is making things fun for me."

Detective? Ran felt like she was going to be sick. Surely he didn't mean Shinichi, was that what this was all about? Was this man some enemy of Shinichi's? But then, what did Ai have to do with anything? As far as Ran knew the girl had never even met Shinichi before.

"I won't kill you..." The man said with a smile, "Because he should have realized that nobody can dodge Us for very long. Nobody knows about Us outside of our ranks and survives to tell the tale, not to anybody. It was a mistake that he was left living this long, but now Kudou is going to walk right into the heart of our organization...and just to watch you die."

The months Shinichi had vanished, the way he had stopped letting himself get credit for the little number of cases that he HAD been present for...Ran felt like something had closed on her throat. Was that why he had stayed away? Because some people were trying to kill him?

What did that idiot detective get himself into?

"Ah, Sherry, good of you to join the waking world." The man said, "I suppose you don't recognize me...I was never that important of a member...my name is Scotch."

Ai was awake, and Ran had never seen so much fear in somebody's eyes before. The girl was trembling, and though she was bound she had managed to press herself against the opposite wall from the man. Protectiveness surged through Ran, but what could she do to make him leave the poor girl alone?

"Of course...you're going to That Person yourself." Scotch purred. Ai was breathing heavily around her gag, her eyes were stretched wide. Ran wanted to kick out at the man, but she couldn't since her feet were tied together. "Yes, he said he had a very special treatment ordered up for our little traitor."

Traitor? But she was just a little kid...what was that man talking about? Were these sick bastards some part of a cult or something? One that was fatal to leave? Ran glared at him, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. He was holding Ai by the chin now, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"You know the other two you've been hiding with? Oh, you know they are on their way." Scotch growled, mouth twisting into a sick smile. "They're going to come so that they can rescue you, but you know what will happen don't you? They'd usually be killed on the spot...but this is a special circumstance. Sherry, we're going to make you watch them die. Because you should have turned them in yourself, then maybe you wouldn't have to worry about that."

Silence, Ai was just staring at the man with her wide eyes.

"Well...I made sure that my special specimen would come as well. Sent him a little message for that detective to decode for you." Scotch gave a fox-like smile, "I'll be sad to watch him die, but it'll be more of a benefit to me besides. To think, that I'll get to be the first person that can preform dissection on his species...and of course I'm going to let you see THAT as well."

Ai screamed behind the gag, and Ran finally figured out something she could do. She bunched her muscles beneath herself, and slammed her head into Scotch's abdomen. The man fell back, with Ran on top of him. She attempted to roll off but suddenly he was burying his fingers into her scalp. Ran bit into the gag as she was yanked up into a standing position by her hair.

"You dirty little bitch!" Scotch yelled in her face. Ran gave him the most potent death-glare she could possibly manage. After a moment he seemed to calm down, "You, when it comes time for you to die I'm going to make sure you regret ever doing that."

"Having trouble Scotch?" The amused voice caught Ran off guard. The person stopped, a look of confusion crossing his features, "Oi, oi...what is this?"

Ran knew him...but from where. It felt like it was important, recognizing who this person was. The man was inspecting her, looking as if he might recognize where she was from as well. After a moment he looked back at Scotch, who was glaring at the man. Ran couldn't see the man's eyes behind his dark sunglasses but her head was still trying to place where she had seen him.

"Vodka." Scotch hissed, making Ran think there was some sort of pattern here. Scotch, Vodka...even Sherry. Weren't they all some form of alcohol? Ran watched the heavyset man warily but jumped a little when Scotch exploded into laughter right next to her. Ran turned to look at him, fearful. "I see...so That Person sent his partner did he? This just gets better and better."

"I was ordered to follow your orders." Vodka said. Ran couldn't tell if the man was unhappy about that or not, though the corners of his mouth were pulled down in a frown. "I'm not supposed to tell aniki..."

It was the word that did it. Because he'd said the same thing to that man in a whispered tone at the rollercoaster. Ran stiffened, her eyes stretching wide as the recognition hit her. She hardly heard the two men as they continued to converse over her. Instead she was thinking back on the last time she'd seen Shinichi for more than a day. Tropical Land.

_Shinichi followed him..._Ran thought. Had that been when the trouble all started? It made sense to her. Ran yelped a bit when the man called Vodka picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She felt a flash of frustration at the fact that she couldn't do hardly anything at the moment.

"I don't like this." Vodka stated, "Not talking to aniki...but That Person told me not too...Scotch I just hope that you know what you're doing. I don't think aniki would approve of you leading anybody straight to the headquarters."

Before she could hear anything else Scotch clubbed her upside the head. Ran hadn't been expecting it at all, so she was completely caught off guard when he hit her. She couldn't even tell what it was before darkness swarmed over her vision like a cloud.

* * *

Shinichi is a really irritating person when he's being impatient, in case you were wondering. Oh, I get it, things are crunched for time. Especially for him, since he happened to have an antidote that worked only for a limited amount of time. Still, I was about ready to lay him out on the sidewalk if he wasn't going to stop hopping from foot to foot in a second.

"I bet you look like a little kid that's about to wet his pants. Would you STOP?" I snapped, feeling my already frayed nerves on the edge of snapping. "And just think of how much more ridiculous that would look when you happen to be seventeen years old? Act your age will you..."

Shinichi didn't say anything, but he did stop. A silence stretched between us, taut, like both of our nerves. I grit my teeth and shut my eyes. Why was Max taking so long...and what was it that she was doing anyways?

She said she had a better way for us to get there quickly, and then she vanished. My wondering was dashed when I heard the squeal of tires off in the distance. I felt a line of sweat trail it's way down the back of my head. Oh, no way. She did NOT do what I think she did.

A car squealed to a stop, and the window was rolled down. "I told you I'd find a better way for you to get there. Don't worry, I'm sure the rental agency will be able to look beyond that when they find out that I'll pay them later."

"You stole a car?" Shinichi said, sounding slightly irritated. I kind of agreed with him for once, the last thing we needed was for the police to be chasing us because we were in a stolen vehicle. Still, we didn't have much time to think on it too much. He opened the door, "Get out."

"Wow, when lives are on the line you're really rude." Nudge commented, hopping out of the backseat. The rest of the Flock joined her before I ran to the other side and opened the door. Nudge snorted slightly, "And you're not the only one."

"Sorry, we don't exactly have time to be polite." I snapped in return. Shinichi slid into the driver's seat, I wondered if he could drive...probably. Didn't he say something once about being able to fly a plane or something? If he could do that and not drive that'd be really odd.

"Follow the car, but stay as high as you can. More than seven hundred yards, if that's at all possible." Shinichi ordered, "When we get close I'm going to request that you stay about half a kilometer away from the actual building, and wait for the police there. From then on I want you to cover as many of them as you can from the sky. If we don't get out of that building in..."

There was a pause as he grabbed grabbed my wrist and looked at the watch he had given me. "If we aren't out in approximately sixteen hours then I'm going to need you guys to call Hattori and tell him the details that I gave you. Please...there are important people in the police force and I don't want them to get hurt because you come rushing after us."

Everyone probably nodded, heck, I don't know. Can't see, but that's what I'm did so I'm just going to assume that everybody else did as well. Shinichi started the car, and he floored it. Honestly, if we weren't going to get nailed for grand theft auto speeding would probably be on the list. Though I doubted even the law was going to make Shinichi stop now. Not when Ran was in danger.

For her, I knew, he'd give up something so important to him.

Just like I knew that I'd give up something important to save Shiho. I grit my teeth, and dug my nails into the palm of my hand. We had to save them. We just had to. There wasn't any room for failure on this mission.

_**

* * *

**_

When Ran next woke up she was aware of the fact that someone was shaking her. Had it all been a dream? She certainly wasn't bound or gagged at the moment. Her eyes cracked open, and she would have thought she was looking in a mirror if it wasn't for the fact that the person hovering over her had a wild tangle of hair.

"Aoko-chan?" Ran asked, blinking in surprise. Aoko withdrew her hand, relief flooding into her eyes. Ran sat up, grabbing her head and trying to stop the world from spinning around in circles by shutting her eyes. "It wasn't a dream...was it? But what are you doing here?"

"I don't know." Aoko said, eyes darting down to her feet for the briefest of instances. Ran watched her, only to see the girl rubbing her arms as though she was cold or something. She let herself take in her surroundings, trying to see if there was any way she could get them both out of this situation.

A jail cell. Ran blinked, "This place...it looks like a rundown police station or something like that. But we were out in the country, I didn't think they had something like this out here."

"I think They built the cells themselves. Or got money to have them made." Aoko said, and shuddered. "At least, that's what the woman who took me here seemed to want to say."

"Are you sure you don't know why you're here?" Ran asked, getting up and walking over to the cell door. She rattled it a bit, but the door wouldn't open up. She could tell just by looking at the bars that even someone as small as Conan wouldn't be able to slip through them.

"Well..." Aoko paused, sounding unsure. "I don't know if I dreamed it up...it doesn't make any sense."

"Not much of this does." Ran found herself saying wryly. She remembered the man who had showed up with her kidnapper. The one from Tropical Land. "Though I think that my being here...might be a trap for a very good friend of mine."

"I think that's what I am too." Aoko said, "Or, that's what it sounded like. That woman...she told me, 'You are Kaitou Kid's only weakness...' But what does that even mean? Sure, my dad hunts Kid...but...I've only really even been close to him once before. How could I be his weakness?"

"I don't know." Ran admitted, glancing sympathetically at the confused Aoko. She swallowed the lump of fear that had worked it's way into her throat and sat down on the hard floor of her cell. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the door opposite them, "But I have a bad feeling that we'll probably find out."

Silence stretched between them, and Ran found herself suddenly realizing something. She looked around the cell, her eyes roamed every crevice and corner but...

"Aoko-chan, was there a little girl with me?" She asked. Aoko shook her head and Ran felt a surge of worry wash through her. Ai wasn't anywhere in the cell. Had that man already killed her? No, hadn't he wanted her...to...to watch everybody die or something like that?

Where had they taken her?

* * *

It was dark, but Shiho knew the reasons for that. It was underground here, a mirror of the above world. This was the underworld. This was Hell, and she was being dragged into it's pits after betraying Lucifer himself. She shuddered, the cold didn't come from the dark corridor. No, it came from fear.

_Iggy._ She pleaded, pulling her shackled hands to her chest. She could feel her heart hammering against them, beating so hard that she could feel it jumping in her throat. _Iggy. Kudou-kun. Please. Please don't come here. It's all just a trap. We're all dead anyways, so don't waste your lives on us._

_We're already dead and buried._

_**

* * *

**_

_Fourteen hours remaining_. It had taken a surprisingly long time to find the location Nudge had managed to hack. Shinichi had managed to barely spot it, even though darkness had long since taken hold of the world around them. He pulled the vehicle to a stop, and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white in the shadows.

Silence. Iggy didn't say anything, but somehow Shinichi thought that he knew they were there. Here. The place Shinichi had wanted so desperately to find, for so very long. His sharp eyes raked the building ahead of him, mapping out as much detail as he could in the darkness.

"We're about two kilometers away. I don't dare drive any closer Iggy-kun. It might take us awhile to get there, but we've got to be careful. There's a lot of open ground between here and the building. It's probably been designed like that. I can't see any guards, but I imagine that there will be snipers casing the place." Shinichi frowned, "It doesn't look like anything more than an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere."

"How cliche'." Iggy commented wryly. "Well, we aren't doing much good sitting here are we? It took nearly two hours just to find the stupid thing."

"I was right I think..." Shinichi commented, "That you wouldn't be able to come in from the sky. But it'll take at least an hour to get there if we're being careful. And we'll have to be. They'll probably have some people guarding the door, but I have a feeling it'll be done in a covert way."

"So we have no idea how many people we really are going to have to talk out? Can you figure that out somehow?" Iggy asked. Shinichi frowned, placing his chin in his hand.

"More than one, I'm sure of that." Shinichi said, "Hmm...They usually work in pairs. Vodka and Gin, Chianti and Korn...Vermouth seemed to be alone most of the time but Kir could have been her partner for all I know. Alright, I'll anticipate two. Iggy...this is going to be dangerous. You know that right?"

"Yeah, the possibility of getting out alive is about zero." Iggy said, a grin crossing his features. "But that's not stopping you, ne? So why should I let it stop me? Us shrunken brats gotta stick together, temporarily cured or otherwise. These guys made themselves my enemy the day they killed that woman in my arms. This was going to come eventually."

"Yes." Shinichi agreed, opening the car door. The night air washed over him like a frigid blanket. The stars twinkled over head, but they seemed distant and cold to Shinichi right now. "It's come now."

* * *

_**-let's out gust of air-**_

_**HAHA! **_

_**This chapter was fun to write. **_

_**Mostly because Ran is freaking AWESOME...**_

_**I mean, if there is anybody who can find a way to knock somebody on their ass while bound and gagged, it's Ran...**_

_**and maybe Makoto-kun X3**_

_**ZOMFG! When I started this fanfiction the only organization members I even knew about were Gin and Vodka!**_

_**And now I've got Chianti, Korn, Vermouth, and even Kir...**_

_**Oh, and Irish too, from that movie...and Piscol..Pizzzzz...somethin' or another X3**_

_**Reviews are, as always, loved and adored :3**_


	30. The Jaws of the Trap

_Disclaimer:_

_If I owned it, I'd have buko bucks :3_

_**THIRTY CHAPTERS! -screams-**_

_**HOLY CRAP THIS IS AWESOME! **_

_**Em Phantom- How long it takes to write a chapter? About...two hours I'd say. Though that's only when I write without doing something else. Usually I've got several things going on at the same time. As for whether I go with it or plan them...I kind of do both. I usually imagine up what exactly is going to happen in my head before it comes down to it, but sometimes the characters hijack my train of thought and run away with my muse. It can cause huge changes in the original idea that I had. (That actually happens in this chapter X3)**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- He kind of is, isn't he? I love Kogoro so much...he can seem like such an idiot, but he really does love Ran with all of his heart. :3 Fishy-san? He's actually in this chapter, mentioned briefly...If you can really call it a clash, then I hope you'll enjoy this. There's more action to come in the next few chapters. I'm so glad! I really like that I can put the right emotion into the right scenes...and I had too much fun with the kidnapped girls scenes. :3 The Person, actually starts this chapter out. Though I'm not at all sure where the heck Shiho is...X3**_

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_Chapter Thirty- The Jaws of the Trap_

The man sat alone in the room. The only thing in it was the chair he was sitting on. It seemed almost like a throne, and the way he languidly sat within it seemed to suggest that he was a king. And he was, of sorts. The ruler of the underworld. The controller of darkness.

A smile lit his face as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. It was almost two in the morning.

In the end, everything plays into his hands. Even immortality itself...oh, he'd know for sure tomorrow night. Tomorrow night...the time when those who thought they could face the organization would fall. But not until they saw him in his greatest moment of power.

Yes, the world was going to end. He knew it well, the tale of how one Maximum Ride was the only one who could possibly save it. Oh yes, she'd save the world when it came to it. He knew that, many people did. Even if she did save the world though, there would be so much destruction...there would have to be.

He would use Maximum Ride's destiny to create the pathway for the Black Organization. They would rise from the ashes of destruction and rule the world. The world that was nearly destroyed and on it's knees from weakness.

It was why he had been bothered, at first, that one of the Flock was involved. It wasn't Maximum though, only a minor member. One who was unimportant in the great scheme of things. It was not Iggy's destination to save the world. Not from whatever fate Maximum faced or from the Black Organization.

That detective, that boy, they would both fail. And other's would fall in puddles of their own blood because of that. Surely they knew this. His fingers went to the buttons of his cellphone, typing the letters out rapidly. He laughed, a low sound that came from his throat as he held the phone up once he had finished.

Soon, very soon, all those involved would breathe their dying breath.

* * *

"Hakase!" Mitsuhiko called. Hopelessness welled through him. He had gone out to go to the bathroom what seemed like years ago. (really it was only thirty minutes or so) He had managed to get turned around in the dark forest. His only hope, really, was the fact that he had woken Ayumi-chan up before he left.

Would they find him? He desperately hoped so. The dark forest was terrifying.

"Mitsuhiko-kun!" Ayumi-chan's voice caught Mitsuhiko's attention. Relief flooded through him. Even without Conan-kun's help they managed to find him! He scrambled over the log in his desperation to get to her, and almost fell on his face. "Mou...you should really be more careful Mitsuhiko-kun. We've been looking for you for forever..."

"Gomen, gomen!" Mitsuhiko said, bowing his head in his shame. He blinked, noticing the two missing members of their camping trip. "Um...where's Hakase and Genta-kun?"

"They went to look for you in different places." Ayumi-chan said, grabbing his hand. Mitsuhiko felt a blush creep it's way acrossed his features as she dragged him the way she had come. He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Ayumi-chan sighed, but gave him a warm smile.

Mitsuhiko paused, his eye was caught by a flash through the trees. He stopped Ayumi-chan, putting a finger to his lips. After meeting Conan-kun, they had all started trying to be a bit observant. Something...about that glint made Mitsuhiko's stomach lurch in fear.

He peeked around a tree, and found his eyes stretching wide. There were two people in black, one of them was carrying a hunting knife in his hand. He looked irritated.

"Damn, you'd think it'd be easier to find an old man and a group of kids in the woods." The man hissed through clenched teeth, "But they weren't at the campsite like we expected."

"Shut the hell up." The partner growled, fury radiating from his words. "This is called a hit for a reason, it's supposed to be secret."

Hit? Mitsuhiko felt a flash of fear, and froze in place as the man walked near the tree. Old man and kids...that...that was disturbingly close to the Hakase and the Detective Boys. But they hadn't done anything to make somebody want to kill them...right? Maybe they were just worried about them...

The man stopped, "Oh...seems somebody HAS heard us..."

_No, no, no..._ Mitsuhiko thought, feeling Ayumi-chan start to tremble agaisnt him in her own fear. He shut his eyes, desperate for some sort of solution to come to him. The man's hand grabbed Mitsuhiko's arm and he screamed. Ayumi-chan opened her mouth to, but he slammed his hands against her mouth.

_They don't know you're here._ He thought at her, desperate that she wouldn't make a sound. Then he was hauled into the open, to face the men who he had spotted. His heart lurched with fear as the man twisted a photograph around. A picture of Hakase and the Detective boys.

"Well, that's one down." One of the men in black said with a chuckle. "Are you scared Boy-san..."

"Oi, stop that..." The other man protested, grabbing Mitsuhiko by the shoulder. "It's bad that we have to kill kids in the first place. You can't tell me that you're enjoying this."

Mitsuhiko's mind froze somewhere back on the word 'kill'.

He hardly heard the reply from the other man, only knew that it was something rude and loud. Tears flooded Mitsuhiko's eyes as both of them had him by the shoulders now, and the knife was flashing above his head. _What would Conan-kun do? What would Conan-kun do? What would he do? What? What..._

Sobs broke through Mitsuhiko's throat, because he didn't know the answer.

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Aoko felt her stomach lurch when the door swung open. Ran stood up, one swift motion that had her standing like a karate expert. Two of them entered the room, the heavy set man that had brought Ran in, and the woman that Aoko knew. The woman's eyes landed on Ran, and widened briefly.

Still, she shook her head and seemed to be trying to focus on Aoko. Aoko couldn't help but notice that her eyes kept darting back to Ran repeatedly, she seemed rather surprised that she was here for some reason. "Aoko-chan, it's about time that you come with me. Kaitou Kid's final act is about to take place."

She opened the door, and the heavy man kept his gun trained on Ran. A silent warning that if either girl tried to do anything to the woman that she would be killed. A bag was placed over Aoko's face, her hands were tied behind her back. She was pushed forward, and began to walk.

* * *

It was achingly slow. I thought that getting ourselves organized for this, a necessary task now that I really thought about it, was tedious but this was ridiculous. It seemed as though we hadn't moved more than three meters in the last thirty minutes. My back was pressed against a rock, and I hated not being able to tell exactly where Shinichi was at the moment.

The darkness would be a good cover. I was somehow surprised by the fact that there weren't spotlights sweeping the place or something. Until Shinichi had pointed out to me that something like that would stick out like a sore thumb to the police, no matter how deserted this area seemed.

I bumped into Shinichi without meaning to, and he caught me before I fell down. He was tensed, and I wanted to ask him what the problem was. Why wasn't he moving forward. He traced kanji on the back of my hand with his fingers, it took me awhile to figure it out, but since he kept doing it over and over I finally figured it out.

Dogs.

I felt frustration bubble in me. Just what we needed, but hadn't I expected something like this? Dogs were much more discreet than glowing spot lights, and could easily be mistaken for a wild animal or something like that. What were we possibly going to do to get rid of them though?

I suddenly wished we'd dragged at least Total along with us. Perhaps he could have negotiated something out. (Okay, so if Total ever say that he'd probably kill me...plese don't tell him I said that.)

I got an idea, but it was pretty risky. I knew that the shoes made noise when you powered them up, but if I kicked a rock away from us, hard enough that it would make a noise to distract the dogs...but no. That wouldn't work. We had to figure out a way to take them out quietly, or whoever was ordering them around would notice that there was an intruder.

This was quite the conundrum we ran into.

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Ayumi was sure that those two men could hear the panicked breathing that was hissing through her fingers. She had both of her hands clapped over her mouth, and her eyes were stretched so wide that it almost hurt. Yet she couldn't move, except for the trembles racing through her small frame.

They had Mitsuhiko, and they would probably have her as well if he hadn't stopped her from screaming. Ayumi could hear them arguing, and Mitsuhiko was crying. She shut her eyes and tears started to flow down her cheeks. She'd never, ever, felt so helpless before. Or scared.

Even the time Conan got shot wasn't as bad as this. Because somehow, through all of that, he had had this determination that got them through it all. There wasn't that determination now though. It was just her, and Mitsuhiko. Ayumi shut her eyes, willing the whole thing to be some sort of awful nightmare.

_Wake up._ She chanted in her head, over and over. A secret mantra that probably kept her from screaming aloud right at that moment. She opened her eyes, and observed the watery forest around her. Listened to the harsh words of the men who had one of her best friends.

They were going to kill him. And she couldn't do anything about it...right?

Slowly, her trembling ceased. Her small hands clenched into fists. Her nails dug half-moon shapes into her palms, and her heart was racing faster than it ever had before. Mitsuhiko wanted to save her, she couldn't just let him die. He was her best friend. Determination flared through her eyes, though they definitely were not without fear.

She stepped back, away from the tree, so that she could see the men from behind. They both had Mitsuhiko by the shoulders, and her friend was cowering between them. Looking positively terrified. Ayumi's heart almost froze with fear itself, but she forced herself to push beyond it.

_Be brave, like Conan-kun._ She told herself. Bending down so that her small fingers closed on a large branch. She kept her eyes rivoted on the two men, and slid up behind them. _Be strong, like Ran-oneesan..._

With a scream that expressed every terrified heartbeat since she had seen those two men, every tremble, every tear that she cried for her friend, Ayumi swung the branch. It connected with the back of the first guy's legs, the one who had the knife, and he fell forward with a yelp. Ayumi shrieked as the one who fell tried to scramble up. She swung again, and clobbered him right acrossed the head.

"Get that brat!" The guy she hit snapped at his partner, who was looking between Ayumi and Mitsuhiko with an expression of brief confusion. He released the boy, who staggered a bit, and dove for her. Ayumi screamed another earsplitting scream, and swung her branch again. Only to have it caught in the man's fist.

"Sweetheart you should calm down." The guy who had the other end of her branch said soothingly. Ayumi gave him a look that said she thought he was completley insane. He yanked on her stick, and she somehow managed to keep ahold of it even though she was now in the air. "Let go."

Mitsuhiko moved then, leaping on the guy's back and digging his nails into his neck like a cat. The guy hissed with irritation, and let go of her branch. She fell on her back, the wind knocked from her body for a moment. Mitsuhiko landed on the ground next to her, and grabbed her hand.

"Run!" He hollered, not that he really needed to tell her something like that. She spun around, her hand in Mitsuhiko's panic-tight grip. Somehow, even though they were both stumbling in their fear, they were running faster than they ever had in their entire life. Mitsuhiko glanced back, and his eyes widened even further somehow. Ayumi was about to ask why, when he tackled her at the same instant a gunshot split through the air.

She whimpered, pushing against Mitsuhiko so that he would get up. He stumbled a bit, his eyes looking wide. She grabbed for his hand and pelted into the forest. It was a panicked run, and they both ended up rolling head over heels down an embankment. Ayumi spotted a small cave, and grabbed Mitsuhiko by the collar of his shirt and dragged him inside.

Her heart pounded as the footsteps sounded over head. There was a bush right in front of the cave, sheltering them from immediate sight. She clung to Mitsuhiko, trying to ignore the way their breathing seemed to fill the entire forest. After what seemed like an eternity, she relaxed. They were gone...for now.

"Mitsuhiko-kun..." Ayumi panted, "What if they find Hakase and Genta-kun?"

Her friend didn't answer, and Ayumi glanced back at him. Concern flashed through her when she noticed he had both of his arms crossed over his stomach, his face looked pale. He was hurt.

"Mitsuhiko-kun..." Ayumi whimpered, prying his arms apart. Her stomach lurched sickeningly and she released his hands immediately. All she could do was stare as he curled his arms around his stomach and moaned softly. Her own hands were bright red with blood. "Oh...oh no what do I do?"

Conan had been shot before, and he had survived. But even then...had there been this much blood? Ayumi tried to make him let go again, so she could get a better look at the wound. She started to sob because he wouldn't let go. "Mitsuhiko-kun, please...you have to let me help you."

"Doesn't...hurt that bad." He croaked out, she could tell he was lying. Shudders were rippling down his back, and his pupils looked very small. There was blood in his mouth too. Ayumi covered her face and tried not to cry. "I'm okay...Ayumi-chan..."

"No you're not." She sobbed. "No you're not..."

"It's okay..." Mitsuhiko mumbled, his eyes were glazed over now. Ayumi sobbed, desperately grabbing him and pulling him into a hug. He smiled, and his eyes drifted close.

The beat of his heart felt more like the fluttering of a dying bird under her hands...

* * *

Managing to get into his house to get his Kid outfit had been work. Kaito had been forced to avoid his mother at all costs. He didn't want one of those snipers to get trigger-happy all because she said hello to him or something. Even if he knew where they were, they'd kill her before he'd be able to dispatch of them.

Now he was riding through the sky on his glider. The moon shimmered, a fat blot in the sky. Kaito felt his mouth twist into something that resembled a smirk. So, that meant that tomorrow would be the full moon. The jewel was heavy in his pocket, and Kaito's mouth was bitter with the taste of bile. He had considered, briefly, giving Them a fake instead. However he was almost certain They'd be able to tell almost immediately. Then They'd kill Aoko.

Every fibre of his being was burning with rage. They took Aoko. They killed his assistant. These people...Kaito was having a hard time keeping his ever important poker-face up. The thief narrowed his eyes as his glider flew over the open country. There, the building he was told to go to.

It was smaller than he expected, but using his heat thermal goggles soon showed him the reason for that. A vast array of underground tunnels spanned beneath the small building. These people were literally on the underground. He put the goggles back in his pocket, swooping down low.

Dogs started barking. Kaito swore under his breath, swooping back up on his glider. Didn't They want this damned jewel? What was with them having their dogs attack him like this?

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"Kid!" Shinichi said, making me blink in confusion. I couldn't even understand what the heck he was talking about, but then the dogs started barking. I stiffened, ready to run like hell to avoid getting my butt torn off or worse, but Shinichi held me in place. "No, it's Kaitou Kid."

"That thief? What's he doing here?" I hissed through my teeth. Anger made me want to hurl a rock at the thief, if I could see him that is. "That freaking moron just basically blew our cover!"

"I don't think so actually." Shinichi said, "I think...that perhaps they've been expecting him."

"Eh?"

* * *

Something popped to Kaito's left, and before he could even think about banking he was suddenly wrapped up in a net. The glider's frame bent, some of it's pieces stabbed Kaito in the shoulder. He slammed into the ground so hard that his wind was knocked from his lungs. He heard laughter issued from a man.

"Well, well..." Amusement flared up in that tone. "For some reason I was thinking the elusive thief would be harder to capture. In fact, I was hoping for it. Strange how such a simple thing managed to catch you."

"What's this? Somebody I haven't met before?" Kaito said, not letting the fact that he was tied up in a net force him to drop his poker-face. Not against these people. His eyes trailed along the net, searching for a way to squirm through. A man stepped forward, flanked on both sides by two rather large dogs. "Cute puppies."

"Koh and Rah." The man said, and the dogs sat on their haunches. "That's their names. Together we're some of the best at capturing. Though I was expecting you to be a bit of a challenge."

"Don't count me out quite yet." Kaito murmured, but froze when the man snapped his fingers. The woman from the building came, pushing somebody forward. She pulled the bag off of her head, and Kaito felt his eyes narrow slightly. He put on his falsest smile yet, knowing that he was on the verge of cracking. "Ah, yes, that's exactly why I came here. Do you treat everybody you exchange things with in such a rude manner? I'm surprised you have any clients..."

"You didn't really think we'd just hand the girl over to you, did you?" The man scoffed, making the woman who had Aoko glare at him bitterly. Kaito sighed, hanging his head as if he was disappointed in a small child.

"Well...I was afraid of that." He said, and lifted his head to give the group that surrounded him a smirk. "Which is why I brought one of my assistants. Now!"

Something exploded in a flare of bright light, making everyone turn and glare in that direction. Kaito smirked to himself, really, THEY were the ones he expected more of a challenge from. A few twists of his capable fingers had the net falling down around him. His glider was done, but he had plenty left in his arsenal.

Smoke bombs were tossed at their feet next. Kaito rolled, shoving the woman who had Aoko as hard as he could. A gun fired near his head, the bullet grazed his shoulder but it was merely a flesh wound. Kaito scooped Aoko into his arms, and leaped away. He hit the ground rolling, curling his body around her's protectively until he was leaping to his feet at the end.

Somehow his hat had managed to stay firmly attached to his head, as well as his monocle. Trusty things they were. Kaito glanced around, still carrying a rather stunned Aoko in his arms as he tried to figure out exactly what he should do next. Normally he would have just taken off in his glider, but that happened to be a crumbled mess behind him now.

_Shit._ He thought. They only had about five minutes before that cloud of smoke dispersed, and that wasn't even considering the fact that one of them was probably going to stumble out of it at any moment. Aoko suddenly tightened her grip on his arm, and he looked down at her.

"Um..." She said, looking at him with wide eyes. "Kid you can put me down if you like."

"No, at the moment I think I better keep carrying you." He replied to her with a charming wink. But she'd be able to feel how his heart was hammering against the side of his chest in fear, since she was pressed against it now. "It makes it easier for me to think of a quick get away."

"Why..." Aoko asked, Kaito wanted to shush her, but her eyes seemed so grave. "Why am I your only weakness?"

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Aoko felt determined to know. She had to, that thing that the woman had told her...it seemed true. After he risked his own life to save her, after he almost got shot in the head just to get her away from that awful woman from earlier. Kid looked down at her, his oddly familiar blue eyes searching her face for a moment.

"Ah..." He said, "That."

"Yes." Aoko ordered, feeling a flash of irritation towards the elusive man that was holding her now. She was glad that it was dark, or he would probably be able to see the blush that had colored her cheeks. Goodness, if her father ever saw that he'd probably go ballistic. Then again, he'd probably be more grateful to Kid for rescuing her. Though he wouldn't admit it.

Kid opened his mouth, as if he was about to answer but whatever he was going to say was interrupted in the worst way possible. Two dogs leapt at the thief from both sides, their fangs seeking his throat for sure. Kid managed to somehow avoid getting himself killed by blocking the right dog with his arm and the left dog with his foot. Unfortunately he fell back, and Aoko couldn't help but notice the gun trained on him.

"Go!" Kid yelled at her, "Run, now!"

Aoko stared, there wasn't a trick for him to get out of this. Somehow she knew that...he was going to die if she left him there. It made her hesitate, and that seemed to be all that was enough. The man grabbed her from behind, jamming the gun against the side of her head.

"No more tricks, Kid-san." The man rumbled, "Because no matter what you've got left her head will be blown to bits if you even move."

"Kamikaze we aren't supposed to kill them quite yet." The woman said, sounding amused, "Well...not Kid-san that is. The girl is disposable, but something tells me that he won't come quietly unless her life is in danger. Are you going to keep fighting, or will we have to shoot her in the leg as a warning to you?"

Kid froze, and though his facial expression seemed unfazed, Aoko could see a world of rage flashing behind his eyes. He nodded, one very small nod, and as if that had been a sign the dogs sprang away from him. The woman pulled out a rifle, and fired once at Kid. Aoko screamed, sure that the thief was going to be dead, but then she realized that he'd just been tranquilized.

They tranquilized him as if he was some sort of dangerous animal. The woman smirked as he passed out, adjusting his hat so that it didn't roll off of his head. "Well, he was much more trouble than he was worth. Kamikaze...don't kill her quite yet, we want to be sure that he'll stay quiet."

"Tch." The man replied, Kamikaze? Aoko wondered if she could struggle free...but she couldn't leave the thief here could she? Even if he was her father's enemy...he'd tried to save her life. "Vermouth are you sure that's alright. I was told..."

"It will be fine, as long as you let me do the talking." The woman said in a cold tone of voice. She touched the side of Kid's face, her eyes looked almost sad. "He does look an awful lot like him as well...even under this illusive mask of his. Well, it seems as if you can't run away anymore...Kuroba-kun."

Aoko stiffened. Surely she'd heard wrong, or the woman was lying. Or maybe Kid was a different Kuroba...but the way it clicked in her head, like the final piece of a puzzle, it fit so perfectly. She didn't have long to fret over it though, because the butt of the gun was being slammed against the back of her head. Darkness blotted out the moon.

* * *

Whatever that thief was up to, it ended up being for the better. At least for us. We managed to slip passed those dogs because of it, and we were almost to the door by now. At least, I felt like we must have been. The pauses were longer now, and Shinichi was being more careful than before.

Still, a hiss issued through his mouth after a moment. "What?" I asked, sure that we were definitely screwed this time. If they just took us in then things wouldn't be so bad, we would technically be taken straight to the two girls we were rescuing. That was betting on the fact that they wouldn't just put a bullet between our eyes though.

"They got Kid." Shinichi said, there was surprise in his tone. Even...regret, fear? I wondered at it a bit as Shinichi swore irritably, "Baka thief, of all the times he gets caught it's facing Them?"

"We'll worry about him if we have the time to." I told him, though Shinichi tried to vehemently deny it. "Hey, so maybe he isn't your friend but he's your rival. I get it, your pride wants you to be the one who catches him for sure. But the girls are more important, and we can't let this distract us."

"I know that." Shinichi replied, sounding slightly irritated. We pushed on, the silence stretching between us made things uncomfortable. There was little we could do about it though. I was certain that we wouldn't be able to talk at all soon, getting as close to the building as we were.

Shinichi stopped me, tracing kanji on the back of my hand once more. It was actually a pretty clever way to communicate silently, if you ask me. Kanji, and a few numbers as well. Something about...two, one, and two. Two left, one right, two straight. I blinked, did he mean guards?

Of course that's what he meant. I stiffened when I heard the crunch of gravel underfoot. Chances were these people were armed, so what were we supposed to do? Let's see...there were plenty of rocks nearby to kick and...I furrowed my brow in confusion. He was tracing Kanji on my hand again, so rapidly that I was about ready to smack him. I didn't get it.

Cover my nose?

What the hell?

Arching an eyebrow at him I pinched my nose lightly between my thumb and my index finger. I heard the zipper of his pack, and he pulled something out. My confusion cleared when he grabbed my put whatever it was in my hand. I found a grin crossing my features. My fingers trailed along it's surface, pressing buttons. Then Shinichi hurled it away.

There was a pause in the footsteps, Shinichi and I both got ready to run.

My stink-bomb exploded right then. Even with my nose plugged the stench truly was rank, and it was the perfect thing to distract the baddies as well. Something that didn't go off in a flash...they probably wouldn't think it was intruders. Shinichi and I got up, and pelted through, what I'm sure, must have been a visible cloud of stank.

Okay, so it probably wasn't visible, but I'm guessing that somebody who wasn't ready for that was blinded by how bad it stank. Shinichi opened a door and practically hurled me inside. He shut the door behind him, and both of us let out a huge gasp of air. I felt a grin cross my features.

"So THAT'S where you hid my bomb." I commented at him wryly. "Eh, that might have been a bit too strong to use at school, but you have to admit that it worked out rather nicely for this."

"Thank goodness we weren't within the actual blast." Shinichi coughed, "Or we'd smell terrible for a few months. Hurry up, we've got to go...I don't want to risk them having heard the door shut behind us or something like that."

We ran down the hall, Shinichi had to keep grabbing me by the collar of my shirt so I wouldn't just book around the corners. The third time he did this he added a smack on my head. I glowered at him, but got the message. Slow down, this wasn't something we could be rushing into.

We ended up running down a bunch of stairs, and then we both froze. Why you ask? Because there happened to be a fork in our paths. We had no clue, no idea which direction we were supposed to be heading. Both of us blinked for a moment, unsure of what we should do when footsteps sounded behind us.

I knew I was the only one who could hear them at first, because my hearing is sharper than Shinichi's. "Right!" I hissed, running to the right. "Shinichi, somebody's coming..."

"Somebody is HERE..." Scotch's voice froze me in my tracks. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I heard a thud as Shinichi collapsed to the ground. "Oh, and the really depressing thing is that you were only about three meters from the actual door to save your friend."

"Shinichi, are you alright?" I yelled, but I didn't get a reply that really made me feel better. Just a groan and somebody suddenly yelping in surprise.

"Th-that's that kid aniki killed at the theme park!" The man...Vodka, choked out. Scotch chuckled as though he was completely amused, and walked over to me. I felt my fingers go to the dial on my shoe, but Scotch's hand crushed my fingers. He pulled my arm up and shoved the gun into my mouth.

"Don't move..." Scotch said, his voice low and dangerous. "See, the game's been lost now. No more tricks, no more escapes."

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Ran was scared...terrified really. Though she would never, in a million years, admit such a thing to anybody else. Vodka and Scotch had left the room after hearing something through their walky-talkies. Scotch had joined the heavyset man only a moment before. The door suddenly opened, and Vodka entered the room carrying somebody.

Her heart froze in terror. "Sh-Shinichi!" She said, hands going to her face. There was blood on the side of his face, and his eyes fluttered slightly when she said his name but other than that there was no response. Scotch entered the room as well, carrying Iggy by the neck. "Iggy-kun?"

What were they doing here? Shinichi...Shinichi probably came to save her, but Iggy? The door opened and Vodka literally through Shinichi onto the ground of the cell. Ran felt fury flood through her, but froze on account of the fact that the other man still had Iggy in a firm grasp.

The door swung shut, and Scotch grabbed a walky-talkie with his free hand. "It seems the final players have been rounded up. It's all finished up now..." Scotch paused, eyes narrowing, "Why...Hai..."

There seemed to be confusion on his features as he put the walky-talkie down. Still he shrugged his shoulders as he looked over at Ran, who still hadn't gone to Shinichi yet. She wanted to, but she was terrified that if she even moved they would shoot poor Iggy. There was that, and there was the shock that came with the fact that he was like that in the first place.

Because for some reason, even if she thought it could be a trap, she never thought that Shinichi would get hurt like this. He was always smart enough to see through things like this. He was always clever enough to save himself, to face down a murderer and not have to worry about his life.

"It seems That Person is particularly interested in you, Specimen." Scotch said, a hint of jealousy in his tone. Iggy growled around the barrel of the gun that was shoved in his mouth, "Well...soon you'll be joined by more friends, Bitch-chan. Vodka, your orders will come to you. Do nothing until then."

They both left, Vodka would be staying outside of the room it seemed. Ran rushed to Shinichi's side, grabbing her beloved detective's face and trying to situate him so that he would be more comfortable. Panic flared through her. What if he was going to die? She felt as if she was going to cry.

His hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. Ran looked up, startled to see Shinichi's eyes were open. "Gomen...Ran..." He said, and then passed out in her arms. She was left to cradle his head in her lap, and to hope beyond hope that he was going to be alright.

* * *

The man looked out of his massive window. The first faint light of dawn was streaking the sky. So they had but one day to live now. All of them, the traitors. The night was over now, but would they be able to survive even in the glow of the sun? He doubted it. Already he had confirmation that the old man and children had been located in the mountains.

_You thought you could flee from me._ He thought, laughter rumbling in his chest. They were wrong. Dead-wrong, and they'd find out soon enough how realistic that was. He wouldn't be seeing any of the traitors until nightfall. Yes, that would let enough time pass to have them squirming in anticipation.

The gem he was twirling in his fingers caught the radiant light of the sun, and a wicked smile creased his features.

_**

* * *

**_

"Mou...Heiji..." Kazuha complained, trailing after her highschool friend as they walked through the busy streets of Tokyo. That's right, Tokyo. Because as soon as their train came to a stop Heiji had transferred his ticket. He seemed furious with her for some reason, he hadn't wanted her to follow. Still, Kazuha couldn't help herself. She snuck on the same train.

Something was wrong. She got that distinct idea. Kazuha felt a flash of irritation as she glared at her boyfriend's back. She had asked, several times, what was wrong with him.

All he would do was mumble something about, "Kudou..." and then trail off into nothing.

"Ah-le?" Kazuha said, her attention caught by the police tape that was around an all too familiar building. Heiji swore, so loudly that a woman pulled her small child aside and gave the detective a harsh glare. Kazuha apologized to her, before chasing after Heiji who had run to the police.

"What's happened?" Heiji asked, making Kazuha blink at him.

"Mouri-san was attacked." Megure said this only after a small pause. Heiji's eyes narrowed as the man continued, "Ran-san and Conan-kun haven't been found yet."

"Ran-chan?" Kazuha said, worry for her friend suddenly flaring within her. "You don't think..."

She trailed off as Heiji walked away, muttering to himself darkly. That wasn't what had stopped her flow of words though, it was the look he'd had in his eyes. She knew that look, he already knew what happened to Ran and Conan. Confusion flared through her. Why wasn't he telling the police this?

She didn't notice the person following them both in the shadows.

* * *

Hattori frowned up at the Hakase's house, irritation flashing through his features. He glanced back at Kazuha, his stomach twisting in something akin to fear. Only it was worse than any kind of fear he had ever felt for himself before. She had the chipmunk sitting on her shoulder, and she kept petting it absentmindedly.

He couldn't let anything happen to her.

He opened the door to the Hakase's, and somehow wasn't surprised that the only current occupant of the building seemed to be the goldfish swimming in endless patterns in it's fish bowl. "Kazuha, why don't you feed the fish or somethin'? I don't think anybody's been in for it today."

"Hello Fishy-san..." Kazuha said, going to the bowl. Heiji's eyes travelled around the house, looking for some sort of code that Kudou could have left behind. But then...no, he hadn't expected Heiji to return to Tokyo. Heiji wouldn't have either, if he had known that Kazuha would follow him.

The door creaked open, and Heiji stiffened. Kazuha stopped what she was doing, and Heiji whirled, grabbing a nearby broom to use in place of his usual kendo sword. He swung the weapon down, and smacked the person right between the eyes. It wasn't until he crumbled to the ground that Heiji realized his mistake.

"Fang-kun?" Kazuha yelled, and Heiji laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

_Oops..._

_**

* * *

**_

Ayumi whimpered. The sun was coming up, and though Mitsuhiko definitely wasn't dead (his eyes were squeezed shut in pain) she had never seen her friend look so pale before. She had managed to keep him awake by talking with him. Because she was certain that if he fell asleep...

He would never ever wake up again. Tears flooded her eyes. His fingers were starting to feel very cold, and though she'd managed to stop his stomach from bleeding too badly by taking off his shirt and pressing against it...she couldn't say anything for what was going on inside of her friend.

He kept coughing up blood. He was shivering, his eyes seemed unfocused. What did that all mean? What was she supposed to do? She wasn't smart, like Conan or Ai. Was her friend going to die because she was stupid? A soft sob escaped her mouth. She held her friend close.

Ayumi started to pray.

* * *

_**Can you believe that the Detective Boys were originally not going to have anything to do with the finale...**_

_**Now they've got their own private battle going on amidst everything else!**_

_**And poor Mitsuhiko...**_

_**He just might die...**_

_**The fact that he isn't dead YET is kind of a miracle. -cuddles Mitsu-chan-**_

_**Reviews are loved.**_


	31. The Moment of Multiple Truths

_Disclaimer:_

_You know this by now. _

_It's not mine._

_I really wish it was._

_But it isn't._

_Which makes me sad._

_And wishful._

_Which makes the people who own this point at me with their fingers..._

_And laugh._

_And say;_

_"Poo in one hand and wish in the other. See which one fills up faster."_

_**Eee! I'm so excited about this chapter! Because this is exactly how I imagine these happening in the show! (They'll probably be better for the show but still...) **_

_**It's definitely one of my favorite chapters to write so far :3**_

_**Except for maybe the next one...since it'll be uber intense! X3**_

_**Em Phantom- I know, poor Fang. All confuzzled and sturfs. Let me rephrase that. It takes me two hours on a GOOD day. When the chapters aren't stopped by my pondering, or when they aren't ridiculously long like this one here. (My fingers are tired...X3)**_

_**Elena Forest- Hmmm...I'm curious about how long this is too. X3 I'm glad that you're back. I missed you while you flitted away. I'd write a longer reply to you and answer every wonderful review you sent me, but my fingers are tired from writing this long chapter. Besides, you should be reading that. :3**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Chapter Thirty-one- The Moment of Multiple Truths_

Time was ticking by. They were helpless to stop it. Everyone is helpless to stop it. But soon, very soon, time would not be of any matter to him. He would drink the tears of the Pandora Gem. He would live for an eternity. Even if Maximum Ride failed to save the world.

In the end it would be his.

Everything.

Life.

Power.

Eternity.

It was just a matter of hours now. Just a matter of patience. Of waiting for it to all come to him. He was used to waiting. He'd done so many times in his life before. Now would be no exception. A smile flashed on his face, he held the gem in his fingers. Twirled them so they reflected on the shadows of his features.

* * *

The world, at the moment, was a mixture of pain and numbness. When one was gone the other was obviously present. Mitsuhiko was in the latter now though. His eyes felt heavy. He was tired, and the world had lost it's edge. It seemed as if everything had a fuzzy quality to it.

Even Ayumi-chan's sobs.

She was holding him. Even in the danger he was in, even if his life was beginning to ebb away, he still found his heart being lifted a little by that. Nothing like getting a hug from the girl you had a crush on to lift your spirits. Mitsuhiko didn't think that it would be so bad to die, if he was with her.

Except she was sad. That bothered him. He tried to remember why she'd be sad. Did it matter if he died, as long as he wasn't hurting? He couldn't remember, and that bothered him as well. Mitsuhiko's mind grabbed for some rational thought, for that logic that kept so many people he knew going.

Guess he wouldn't get to be a detective.

Or a scientist either. He'd always kind of wanted to do something with that. Maybe become a forensic scientist when he grew up. So he could test the chemicals and help solve cases in his own way. It would have been a cool job to have, a mixture of his two favorite things really.

Oh well, it seemed like too little, too late now.

Ayumi was talking to him, pleading with him, but Mitsuhiko couldn't seem to grasp the meaning of her exact words. Only that she was worried, and that she wanted him to do something. But what? He couldn't tell, and could only issue a soft sound of confusion when she started to cry over it.

The pain came then, wiping away the numb feeling that had descended over him like a jagged bolt of lightning. A choking sound escaped his mouth, his arms tightened around his stomach. It was like fire, pulsing fire that followed the beating of his heart. The copper taste of blood was suddenly very obvious in his mouth. Everything went from fuzzy to sharp in an instant.

"Please say something Mitsuhiko-kun..." Ayumi had been saying. Begging him over and over. At least until he was doubled over in agony. That had made her stop talking for a moment. He breathed out, a sharp hissing sound that came through his clenched teeth. He shut his eyes.

"Hurts." He whimpered. What an understatement.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Why would you ask that? No...he couldn't blame her. It wasn't her fault, she just wanted the impossible to be possible. She wanted it to be okay, she wanted him to be alright. He tried a brave smile, he failed. The world was sliding back into fuzzyness again. Oh well, it was better than the pain.

He wanted to sleep.

He was trying to figure out the reason he shouldn't.

It came back, the pain again. Leaving him doubled over and panting for breath. His vision was flickering, and it felt as if the movement to curl into a ball against the agony was the equivalent to a marathon. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything Mitsuhiko felt before. He was cold, and he was hurting.

"Ayumi?" Genta-kun's voice pierced through Mitsuhiko's thoughts. Like the shattering of glass the word seemed to fall around them both. Mitsuhiko looked up, trying to focus on the face of his friend. Was he truly there, or had he started hallucinating? Was that possible?

"Genta-kun!" Ayumi screamed in relief. Her sob echoed through her throat, and she gently placed Mitsuhiko's head on the ground. "Get the Hakase! Mitsuhiko's...Mitsuhiko-kun is dying."

He hardly registered the final words. He was too busy trying to fall asleep.

_**

* * *

**_

Kaito woke with a start that ceased the talking of both Aoko and some other person. It took Kaito only a heartbeat to figure out who it was, since he turned his head to look. Aoko was looking away now. The other person she'd been talking to was Ran, and the unconscious form between them both was Tantei-kun tall in the way that he was supposed to be.

"What? No girl to hold the Kid while he lies on the floor?" Kaito remarked with a shrug of his shoulders. He recieved a glared from Aoko.

His hat was still on, and so was his monocle. He knew this even before he checked with his hand. So he was just lying on his back, waiting for his mind to come up with something to do. He had literally nothing in his pockets. No smoke bombs, not even the smallest of trinkets. He knew this without looking as well.

A magician got used to gauging what tricks he had remaining in his pockets by the weight of them. This was especially helpful when your night job happened to include being an elusive thief that had never been captured before...well, until now that is. Kaito winced inwardly.

He'd slipped up, and at the worst possible time too.

Smooth move, Kaito.

He got to his feet in the same moment that he started to sit up. He felt a bit dizzy because of that, but managed to give both girls in the cell with him a slightly awkward smile before bowing before them. "Well it seems as though I've managed to get myself caught this once. It's truly unfortunate, Nakamori-chan, that you've been dragged into this as well. And Mouri-san, I did not expect to see you here...or your detective friend."

Ran did not reply really, only glanced at him as if he were a minor nuisance before going back to stroking her detective's hair. He turned his blue gaze to his childhood friend instead, and found her eyes to be gauging him. She was looking at him as if...as if she was trying to compare him to someone else.

_Like, who you really are?_ Kaito thought, a flare of panic starting in his chest. Instead he tipped his head to one side, "Ah, Nakamori-chan, I seem to have captured your interest in some way. Is there some sort of question a gentlemen thief could answer for you? Or are you going to stare at me all night?"

"Day." Ran corrected, absentmindedly really. "It's almost one in the afternoon."

"Ah, so I was out much longer than I expected to be. They must have given me something that could take down an elephant." Kaito said, trying to give the girls a smile. Neither smiled back. Right, he supposed that humor in this sort of situation was just bound to fall flat on it's face. "They must have knocked Tantei-kun for quite the loop."

"Shinichi will be fine." Ran snapped at him.

Aoko still hadn't said anything. It made him nervous. He watched her warily, keeping his slightly charming smile on his features. She was almost glaring at him with the way she was studying him. Finally she opened her mouth, and the words she spoke came out in something that was almost a monotone, "Is it true?"

The corners of his smile faltered, ever so slightly.

"That would all depend, Nakamori-chan. On what it is you're exactly talking about." Kaito replied, flashing her a grin. He saw irritation flare up in her eyes, and was relieved by it. At least she was still Aoko. There was nothing wrong with her head or anything like that.

"This isn't something to smile about..." The beginning of her statement came out as a snap, but as she reached the word 'about' she started to falter. Her eyes watched him questioningly...almost...as if she were afraid. She hesitated a heartbeat, before looking at the ground and tagging an end to her statement, "Kaito..."

His heart lurched.

Had she removed his monocle? Or just his hat? Maybe she hadn't needed to. It was one of the reasons he tried so hard not to be Kid around her. He had always been afraid she'd see through it somehow. That she'd stop hating him enough for one moment and just realize that he was really her best friend.

The lie was out before he had any control over it. It panged him how easy it was to tip his head to one side, to quirk a confused smile in her direction. "Nani?"

Aoko looked up, and locked her eyes on his. She strode forward, and he backed up until he was literally cornered by her in the cell. She was so close that he could see the different shades of blue in her eyes and he found himself catching his breath. His poker-face remained in tact, but he was holding his hands up in a defensive gesture.

Her eyes were on his the entire time. His heart hammered in his chest. "Nakamori-san, you're invading my personal space..." He pointed out, giving her a charming grin. Even with his mastery at keeping a poker-face the words sounded weak and hollow in the air between them. He coughed into his gloved hand, "You're quite the intimadating person..."

"Every time I see you, I notice that your eyes are familiar to me." Aoko said, irritation in her voice. "Kid, if you have the nerve to dress up as my best friend I'm going to kill you. Do you understand that? Don't you dare...taint Kaito by making yourself look like him in any way."

"Got it. No dressing up like your friend." Kaito said, not knowing whether to be relieved, embarassed, or amused. Had he managed to dodge the bullet? But no...there...there were tears in Aoko's eyes. She reached up to tear his hat off and he ducked beneath her easily. Danced away and stood off somewhere behind her. "I'm sorry, but I can't have you-"

"You move like him." She stated. Kaito winced inwardly.

Oh, he had been SUCH an idiot.

"Yes, I understand. I move like your friend." He stated, trying to sound irritated.

"She was lying right? You're...not really Kaito." Aoko said, pleaded with him. For a moment his heart hurt a little at that. She didn't want it to be him. More than anything, and he could tell that.

He had always wanted to tell her...and that was the reason he couldn't. He couldn't tell her. Because she hated Kid. She hated him when he was Kid, and Kaito was almost certain that it would kill him if she hated him as Kaito too.

Yet the reply died in his throat. Somehow...he couldn't bring the words up.

Of all the times to get a frog in his throat.

Aoko stalked towards him again, this time reaching up to tear his hat off. Kaito winced as his monocle crashed to the ground in the same instant, shattering to a million very small pieces. The look in her eyes seemed to mirror that as she glared up at his revealed face.

Her hand slammed acrossed his face. She'd slapped him, and hard too. Kaito didn't know what hurt worse, the sting on his cheek or the way her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. Crystalline tears, like the fragments of his monocle on the ground of their cell. The entire room was silent, and Kaito found himself looking down at the ground.

"Not a mask." She croaked, disbelief sounding like a bell in her tone.

Kaito shook his head, and couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze.

Why hadn't he moved? Even without smoke he could have easily evaded her. Why didn't he say that she was right? That he wasn't Kaito? Why didn't he lie?

He wanted to go back and fix it. To change the fact that he hadn't said anything in the first place. For the first time since he started being Kid he felt shame for it. He was ashamed of the fact that he was a thief. He was ashamed of the fact that he dragged her father away all the time, leaving her alone at home. He was ashamed that he was the object of obsession at their school, and that he was the person Aoko hated the most.

After a very long moment he croaked out, "You ruined my monocle. Those aren't easy to come by these days..." He bent down, trying to pick up the broken fragments. He held the cracked glass in his gloved hand, and stared at the glittering fragments. His heart hurt worse than he ever expected it too.

He'd imagined, sometimes, telling Aoko.

He knew she'd hate him.

Yet he hadn't expected it to hurt nearly as bad as it was hurting.

Finally he dared to look at her, and saw that she was crying. Crying with a shattered expression that hurt ten times worse than the prospect of her hating him. Somehow, knowing he had caused her that pain, it made him want to sink into the ground and never come back up again.

"I'm sorry." He blurted, heart wrenching as he stood up. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry that...that I'm not someone you want me to be. I'm sorry that I drag your dad out like that all the time. I know it makes you sad, and really that's the only thing about this job that sucks. It really sucks."

He was running his fingers through his tangled hair as he spoke. His face was warm, and his throat felt constricted. She wasn't looking at him, she was looking at the ground. Yet he couldn't seem to stop babbling. Even if he knew that she couldn't forgive him for what he did, never in a million years.

He desperately wanted his best friend to understand.

"I know..that you think it's wrong. Maybe it is. It's technically against the law I guess. Still, I wouldn't...do it without a reason." Kaito stared at the shards of glass on his gloved palm, "I found a poster in my room. And there was this...recording...but the thing is...my dad was Kid first."

She looked up sharply. He froze.

For a moment they both didn't say anything, until she looked back down and he started running his free hand through his hair again. "I guess that's why I started it all. I wanted to be closer to my father...because...he was gone. And I felt like it was the only thing that could...make me feel like he was close again."

Pain, so much pain. For the father that he lost. For the friend who was standing before him. A wry smile crossed his features as he looked at the glass in his hand again. "It's funny but...I won't lie Aoko. I like it. I really do. I love it almost as much as I love being a magician. It's fun, and it let's me think. Oh the challenges that I face...my critics..."

Kaito shut his eyes wearily, "But I was doing it for my father more than anything else. It wasn't for the fun, or the critics, or even the fans. It wasn't because I wanted to hurt you, because believe me Aoko...I never ever wanted you to be hurt because of me. I never wanted that. I can't stand the thought of you being here because of me already. I'm sorry for that too."

"I had to find that gem that these people wanted. Because they killed Tou-san over it." Kaito said bitterly. She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "It wasn't an accident Aoko. These people killed him. They killed my father because he wouldn't steal a gem for them that's supposed to grant immortality. I wanted to find it before them. I wanted to destroy it, so that Tou-san wouldn't have died in vain."

He slid to the ground, and covered his eyes with his arm. "I guess I screwed that up didn't I? It seems that I can't do anything right. I can't save the person I care about. I can't avenge my father. I can't be a magician when I grow up. I can't fill his shoes as Kid. I'm worthless...every single bit of me. I failed."

Kaito let the shards of glass slide from his hand and back onto the ground. They sparkled in the air, and landed with a strangely unsatisfying sound. More like falling pebbles than sparkling anything. Kaito laughed bitterly and shut his eyes. Aoko sat next to him, careful to avoid the glass and glared at the opposite wall.

"BaKaito." She hissed through her teeth, before turning to give him a look that should have had him buried six feet under. "You baka. You baka...baka...baka-head. Do you have any idea how pissed I am at you right now? I can hardly stand to look at you! For one thing, if these people killed your dad why didn't you bring it to Tou-san? At least inform HIM would you? Because he could have helped you. Maybe he would have understood..."

She trailed off, and then shook her head.

"No, I don't care that you lied to him. But ME? Kaito you stupid dipshit, I'm your best friend. Kid pisses me off true, and the fact that you're him..." She gagged as though the mere thought made her sick to her stomach. She turned her angry glare on him, fury radiating from her in waves. "I ought to beat you within an inch of your life Kuroba Kaito. You lied to me. You lied to me constantly. Not only that but I always thought Hakuba-kun was an idiot for thinking you were Kid. Now I owe him an apology."

"I'm sorry..." Kaito offered but she smacked him upside the head.

"Shut up, I'm talking." Aoko snapped. Kaito winced as she continued. "I have half a mind never to speak with you again Kaito. Ever. This is the worst thing you've ever done. It's ILLEGAL you freaking moron! What if you got caught one of these times? Or what if somebody killed you? What would happen then? How would you be helping your father if you did that?"

Kaito shrugged his shoulders as she glared at him.

"Are...are we...not going to be friends anymore." Kaito asked softly. She smacked him upside the head.

"Baka." She snapped, "I don't give a flying rat's ass who your secret identity is. But if you ever pull Tou-san away from Christmas dinner ever again I'll skin you alive, do you know that? I can't believe it, I'm keeping Kid's identity a secret...Kami, I never thought that would happen. Then again I never thought such a smart thief could be my stupid friend."

"Heey..." Kaito protested. His heart had lifted though. She was angry with him, yes, but she was still his friend. She was still his Aoko in the end. He almost wanted to give her a hug. Instead he found himself facing her flashing eyes once more.

"I have one more question for you." Aoko growled, and then a light blush dusted her cheeks. She turned to look away, eyes focused on the opposite wall as she narrowed her eyes. "Why...why am I your only weakness when you're Kid. Is it...because you're my friend? Or..."

"Ah..." Kaito said, leaning back and finding his familiar grin flashing across his features. "That's because you're a thief in that regard."

Anger flared in her eyes as she whirled back to him. "I'm not a baka that parades about wearing a white suit thinking he's all that while dragging his best friend's daughter after him on the obsession train if that's what you're talking about Kaito. Or would you like me to hit you in the head?"

"Oh you are quite the thief." He said, keeping his face dead serious. He held up his finger and waggled it in front of her, "Even if you just steal one thing it still makes you a thief."

"I haven't stolen anything, BaKaito." Aoko retorted, confusion dampening the fury flashing in her eyes as he tsked in front of her. He saw them flash with irritation an instant later. She glared at him. "Alright then, what exactly did I steal?"

"Ahoko." Kaito said, quirking a grin at her, "You stole my heart."

...

...

"Kaito that was the most cheesy line in the entire world." Aoko snapped, but her cheeks had turned bright red. Kaito shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at the door before placing his hat on his head. So he was without his monocle for now. A hat was better than nothing. Besides, everybody here knew his true identity.

Except Tantei-kun of course...

Speaking of which. Kaito glanced over at Ran and winked, "Mouri-san, I know that it may go against your nature, but I'd thoroughly appreciate that if we do happen to get out of this little mess we've gotten ourselves into...that you wouldn't go around telling everybody who I am."

Aoko smacked him upside the head.

"BaKaito!" She yelled.

"What the HECK! Ouch, that HURT Aoko..." Kaito complained, holding his head.

He had no way of knowing that she was pissed because of how he seemed to be flirting with Ran only an instant before.

* * *

Agasa was holding onto the small boy in his arms. Cradling him, and praying with all of his heart that the boy wouldn't die. Because if Shinichi ever found out he was even WOUNDED his neighbor would nearly go insane with grief and guilt. Because Agasa didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if that little boy died because he had been foolish enough to assume they were safe in these mountains.

He wasn't going for his car. It was the least inconspicious vehicle one could possibly drive through the mountains. However Mitsuhiko was running out of time. Agasa had to hope, beyond any sort of hope, that he could run into some fellow campers. Yet getting them involved in anyway put them in danger too.

The elderly man held one of the children he had grown so fond of, and wished he had invented a way to stop blood from flowing so thickly from a wound. Even with the makeshift bind Ayumi had managed to give the child...it was already soaked in blood. Agasa would have to attempt to fix it soon.

The road. Agasa sent a quick prayer to the higher power in his life before practically throwing himself onto the road in his desperation. He only just managed to not get hit by the car that was rushing down the road, and when the door opened he found his eyes widening in surprise just because of the sheer fact that he knew the person who had been behind the wheel.

"Jodie-sensei!" The man breathed.

_**

* * *

**_

I sighed in irritation. It seemed like I was moved from whatever place they had me every five minutes. Walking down the hall now...it was probably my tenth transition. I was beginning to get irritated, but I kind of knew why They were doing it to. Just in case. Because if I got out I knew there was no way in hell that I'd be able to navigate these halls.

I'd gotten myself thoroughly turned around, that is. I wondered if They did this with all of Their prisoners or just with the blind ones like me. It was pretty easy to figure out. Nobody knew the direct route that would take them to the big Boss Man dude. Simple as that.

As to why he wanted me...well I can't really say. I've got no idea, perhaps he just wants to take a peek at the freak. (That rhyme was completely unintentional, just so you know.) Still I can't honestly say that...that I wasn't afraid. I'd have to be a complete and total moron NOT to be scared.

Scared? I was terrified.

"This is the last room before you get to meet That Person face to face." Some guy said. Each transition had been done by someone new, and each one was about as much fun to be around as a radioactive porcupine with rabies. I could hear the sneer in his voice. Practically what he was thinking too.

Something along the lines of, 'Nice knowing ya pal...'

Only probably a bit on the rude side. See, Angel's not the only one who can read minds...okay, so I merely deduced what he was probably thinking at the moment. It was making me feel a bit better though.

I was pushed into a room, and I can't help but think it was probably a closet at first. Nice, they don't even have cells this far in. Just a closet for you to reflect on the last moments of your life. You'd think that a big bad mafia type group would at least attempt to give you a decent cell before you wander off to your death.

"Iggy." Shiho's voice made me blink, and stiffen. She was here too? Well...no shit Sherlock. Sheesh, I can't believe myself sometimes. Still, somehow finding out that she was going to face That Person as well made me sick to my stomach. I stayed near the door of our very small room and just kind of stood there like an idiot. "Baka."

I had no idea what I was supposed to say, or do. I felt like I betrayed her somehow. Which is really stupid, since the whole reason I came here was to save her. Except, oh right, I epically failed at that. Now I was standing in front of her, and we were probably both going to die.

"Ah...we didn't do too well." I finally choked out. "Got us...hit Shinichi in the head. I had a gun in my mouth...those...er, they don't taste all that great do they?"

Silence. I sighed, and crouched down.

"Iggy...why did you come?" Shiho asked, frustration clear in her tone. As well as panic. Complete and total panic. This new Shiho, the one who had obvious emotions, I didn't like her very much. It scared me to think that she had lost her control all because of a situation like this.

"I came to rescue you. Baka." I snorted, glaring at the darkness that my life was consumed by. "I didn't exactly waltz in and ask them, 'Hey guys, you know that girl you took away earlier today? I'd totally appreciate it if you just took me straight to her. Thanks a bundle, I'm all good with you probably killing me in the end too, if you're bored and all!' "

Sarcasm dripped from my words, and I found out that I was irritated she wasn't happy to see me. Okay, so that's stupid of me to expect. I mean...I was annoyed that she wasn't at least a little grateful for the fact that I came here for HER. Not for Ran, though I wouldn't have stopped Shinichi if he wanted to save her. Not for Shinichi, but for HER.

She had been my motivation. She was kind of raining on my parade.

"Baka, you basically did all of that just by coming here." Shiho retorted, her voice dropping back into the normal tones she used. Cold, but with a hint of anger still around the edges. "I was worthless, dead and buried. Why...why did you waste your time and come here for somebody who was almost certainly already dead?"

"Because even if there was the smallest chance I was going to go after it." I snapped, "Because I know that I'd never be able to live with myself unless I was sure that the girl who I freaking fell in love with wasn't waiting for me to come and rescue her. For cripe's sake what kind of guy do you think I am? Alright, I admit it, not saying goodbye to you when I was going to leave was my first mistake. I'm sorry, but that's no excuse for you to drop your damned guard and get yourself kidnapped! I get it, that this situation was hopeless and all that. I understand that. I'm not a freaking moron, and neither is Shinichi. I think we both knew that we were probably going to get killed, but that doesn't MATTER. Because I might as well risk my life to save the most important person I have IN my life. I don't know if you understand that, and I almost half expect you not to. I mean what kind of girl says that she's in love with a guy, kisses him, and then disappears for Kani knows how long? Do you have any idea how half-insane you made me over that..."

I trailed off because she was laughing. Really laughing. I narrowed my eyes in irritation but I felt a bit weirded out too. Because...well, Shiho didn't really laugh all that much. I coughed into my hand, and rolled my eyes.

"What?" I finally said, feeling some irritation.

"You just kept going on and on." Shiho said with a dry chuckle. She was back to her old self, not creeping me out by laughing like that anymore. Still, she seemed a bit...I don't know how to even describe it...happier? What a weird place for her to feel something as ridiculous as that.

"Can't a guy rant without somebody picking on him for it." I murmured, feeling my cheeks darken self-consciously as I recalled the exact content of said rant. I held out my hand in irritation and sighed, "Well, this situation sucks already right? Might as well try and make it a bit bittersweet."

"They'll kill you..." Shiho muttered, not taking my hand. I felt a spark of irritation.

"We've already figured as much out." I sighed, "Just get over here so I can hold you. This situation's scary as all hell, and I need something to make me feel a little bit better."

She hesitated before she stepped into my arms.

_**

* * *

**_

Fang arched an eyebrow at the dark-skinned detective in front of him. He seemed determined not to say anything, and Fang wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with that. He knew by the way he just got clonked on his head that SOMETHING was up. And he had an awful feeling that Max had gotten mixed up in it.

"Listen it's the least you owe me, Hattori." Fang snapped, glaring at the young man he had befriended. "After all, I was out for about three minutes. You're lucky I don't have a concussion or something. I've spent about five hours trying to get it out of you, and I'm going to put my foot down now. Tell me."

"Yeah." Kazuha agreed. Fang blinked as Hattori's eyes glared at him, she was probably the reason that he was completely quiet in the first place. Still, he'd started to squirm. Even Fang knew that Hattori hated to keep secrets.

"Nothin's up." Hattori said, and winced when both Fang and Kazuha glared at him at the same exact time. Fang flashed the girl a quick smile. Hey, they could be a good team when they really wanted the same thing. Hattori coughed into his hand before looking up at Fang. "Fine..."

Silence.

"Oh, what an enlightening story Heiji." Kazuha said sarcastically, causing the detective to squirm a bit more.

"The people who did that bad thing ta Kudou got ahold of that girl who made that poison." Heiji blurted out. Fang's eyes widened while poor Kazuha just looked confused. The detective rattled on, "They got 'Neechan. Naturally Kudou decided it would be brilliant ta run after 'em since they got 'er ya know. Iggy was with 'im last I heard."

"Iggy's with him." Fang said, feeling cold.

"Mmm...and that group of people he used ta run around with before he got decidedly shorter. They all went to go storm the place. They apparently figured out where it was because one of 'em could hack computers or somethin'. I don' know where they are exactly at this moment. Kudou knew I'd try ta follow right away and try an' get him help right away, so he didn't give me the coordinates." Hattori winced. Fang's cold feeling had become something of a flash of anger. Iggy, that moron, why the hell did he drag the Flock into this mess? "They're gonna send it ta me later though."

"I'm completely lost." Kazuha announced in irritation, tossing up her hands. "Mou, Heiji, what is it that you're even TALKING about?"

Hattori's cell phone went off, making them all jump. He grabbed for it, and blinked in confusion before opening it up. "Moshi, moshi...Hakase?" The teen blinked, and then his eyes stretched wide. "Ah hell..."

"What?" Fang said, horror rippling through him. Had one of the Flock been hurt? Or even killed.

"Right, I'll be there for 'im til his parents come. Hakase...until then I'd get ridda your cellphone." Hattori paused a heartbeat and muttered, "I think that's how They tracked ya...yeah."

He hung up and went for the door. Fang followed him, as well as Kazuha.

"What? What happened?" Fang asked, fear coiling around his stomach when he saw the look in Hattori's eyes. The young detective swore under his breath as he wrenched the door open.

"Apparently one o' the kids that Kudou hangs out with got shot." Hattori said, turning to look at Fang. "He's in the hospital now but...he's in intensive care. They doubt he'll make it passed surgery. Apparently he's had a lot of internal bleeding, and Hakase can't get ahold of the parents."

"Shit..." Fang said, hating the fact that he was relieved it wasn't one of the Flock. Still, Hattori stopped and cursed through his teeth. He glared at his cellphone, "You said that They probably tracked them with the Hakase's cell..."

"Which means They probably got mine too." Hattori grit his teeth, "I can't go to the hospital, or They'll track me an' find the kid. Plus I gotta keep this so that Kudou's coordinates can come to me when he's ready to have em' sent. Kazuha, can ya go to the hospital for me? Please?"

"Who...what?" Kazuha stared blankly as Hattori shoved her towards a taxi that had already pulled up. Fang blinked as the girl was pushed inside, "Heiji..."

"Listen." Hattori said, kissing her, "I love ya. Just so ya know that. The kid that got hurt was Mitsuhiko-kun. Ya'll be able ta find his room and take care of 'im and the kids for me right?"

"Heiji...why does it seem as though you're saying goodbye?" Kazuha murmured, sounding afraid. Hattori took her by the shoulders and kissed her again, and rested his forehead against hers. Fang looked away when he noticed tears in Kazuha's eyes.

"Don't forget that I love ya. Don't ever forget it." Hattori replied, "Stay safe, take care o' the kids."

"Heiji..." Kazuha protested, but the young man had shut the door of the car on her. She seemed torn, before nodding to the taxi driver and Fang watched as the car disappeared around the corner.

Hattori sighed, "This sucks. If I die I'll haunt the hell outta Kudou for it...that is, if he doesn't die."

"The morbid thing doesn't suit you well, Hattori." Fang replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and watching the car vanish into the distance. The young detective didn't reply, and Fang could hardly blame him. After all, this was probably the last time he'd ever see the girl. Chances were...

They'd all end up dead.

* * *

Kamikaze yawned a wide yawn. Really, even if he was part of an elite group of murderers and thieves you'd think that he'd be able to get some time off. After all, even bad guys needed their sleep. The man yawned again, cradling his favorite weapon on his chest. A crossbow.

Still, patrol was patrol. The man felt a flash of irritation. Couldn't one of the lower members be forced into something this tedious? Sure, they had some of the most tricky enemies they had ever had in lock-up right now but he'd been up all night capturing one of those damned enemies.

"Hm?" The man paused, the door to the entrance was ajar slightly. Confusion flashed through him as he opened it up, and saw what was probably the strangest sight he'd managed to see quite yet. The sprawled out bodies of the people meant to guard this station (the first group had been traded out and killed due to their failure at guarding properly last night) all with very large bumps on their heads. They also were bound with...the strangest thing he had ever seen somebody get bound with.

He whirled, pointing his crossbow into the building. Surely whoever had knocked these men out was already inside, after all, the door had been opened. He remembered readying his finger on the trigger, a heartbeat before he caught the glint of a metallic bat flying for his head. He didn't even had time to duck before the blunt object slammed into the back of his skull.

The world spun, tilted, and he collapsed into an unconscious heap on the floor.

_**

* * *

**_

The first thing that came to Shinichi was feeling. The hard and cold ground under his back. The way his head was propped up on somebody's lap. How fingers were running through his hair, how somebody had ahold of his hand. He felt like he'd been sleeping for a long time. His head didn't even hurt.

_Probably passed out when I was hit._ He thought, and though his head didn't hurt his thoughts were sluggish. Like the one of somebody just waking from a deep slumber. Shinichi had never really been a morning person. _I didn't stay unconscious due to the wound itself. Probably more from emotional strain than anything else. Tch, how embarassing._

Wakefulness suddenly slammed into Shinichi like a truck. The teen detective shot up so quickly that ther person holding him had to jerk back unless she wanted to get his head in her face. Ran, Shinichi realized a heartbeat later. The teen glanced down at his hands, realized that he was still himself, and felt a small well of relief.

Looking around the room soon wiped that away completely, however. The detective grit his teeth, felt his eyes narrow and his heart constricted. He turned, scanning the bars for any means of escape at all. He heard a soft cough in the corner and turned to see the shadowed face of a familiar thief. His monocle seemed to be broken, so his hat was tipped down to cover the top half of his face.

"Ah, Tantei-kun. Believe me there isn't any way of getting out." Kid said, "I've already thoroughly checked the cell while you were fast asleep like a child in Ran-chan's lap over there. Ne?"

"This isn't the time to be thinking something is amusing or saying stupid small jokes." Shinichi spat furiously. He was unusually angry for himself, and it took him a moment to gather himself and calm down. He glared out of the cell, hopelessness flooding through him that was balanced only by the guilt he felt.

"Shinichi?" Ran asked softly. He shut his eyes and began to rub his temples.

"I should have stayed away." Shinichi growled out, she looked hurt for a moment before he realized what it sounded like he was saying. Embarassment flushed through him, "Aaah, no, Ran not here. I didn't mean that I shouldn't have come here for you. That's not what I was talking about."

"But that's right. You should have stayed away. It was a trap..." Ran's eyes flashed with guilt that stabbed Shinichi from all sides. Of all the people to feel guilty she was really the last one in this room. It wasn't her fault she was here, it was his. The guilt in her eyes was replaced briefly as she added, "Shinichi...why did you come?"

"To save you." Shinichi said, "Though I didn't do a good job I thought that much would be..."

"She means why did you come here when it was so obvious it was a trap." Aoko said, alerting Shinichi to her prescence. How had he managed to completely miss the fact that the other girl was here as well. The detective blinked in a perplexed way, "I mean...it was OBVIOUSLY a trap. Even to me..."

"Mine was much better hidden." Kid offered, "But from what these girls said they're right. They practically hung a sign saying, 'Kudou Shinichi this is a trap in case you were wondering' on the front door or something."

"Of course I knew it was a trap." Shinichi hissed in irritation, "But that doesn't matter. They still had Ran."

"You came here KNOWING you were supposed to get caught?" Ran shrieked, making Shinichi wince slightly. Fury flashed in her eyes as she stalked up to him, making Kid mutter something about deja vu for some really stupid reason. Shinichi was only half paying attention to the thief as Ran's foot darted through the air for his face. It stopped, only inches from slamming into his cheek. "BAKA!"

"Ran, listen..." Shinichi choked out, "Why are you so mad?"

"You came here knowing these people wanted to kill you!" She snapped at him furiously, "What do you MEAN why am I so mad? Of course I'm angry! You disappear for Kami knows how long, and I KNOW it has something to do with these people! Why didn't you tell me that you were hiding from such dangerous creeps? I could have HELPED Shinichi. I know karate, I'm STRONG... I could have...not let you PHONE me for one thing. That must have been dangerous for you...and that's why you wouldn't let them use your name when you solved cases!"

"Ran..." Shinichi choked out, "I...I was afraid that if I let you know you'd be in danger. I was trying my best not to get you involved. That's why I should have stayed away, I should have never stayed so close to you. I never meant for you, or your old man to get hurt Ran. I never meant for that."

The silence that stretched between them was uncomfortable. Ran was glaring, Shinichi was staring at the ground with his hands tightened into fists. After a few moments Kid began whistling and backing off into the corner, "I'm not here right now~! You guys can have your little...moment thing."

"Um...right..." Aoko said with a nervous laugh and joined the thief in the corner. They both sat there, muttering somethings to each other and trying to keep out of the conversation Ran and Shinichi were having. (Or non-conversation...) However, when Ran spoke, it was painfully obvious that they were listening to them.

"You DID stay away." Ran said, sounding a little hurt. Shinichi winced and watched as her fingers went up to the necklace he'd gotten her for White Day. She fingered it while keeping her beautiful eyes focused on the ground in front of her. "You would show up, and then you would disappear Shinichi. It was painfully clear that you weren't going to be around for long whenever you WERE around."

"Not what I meant." Shinichi muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing heavily.

"So were you stalking me?" Ran said, "Like Heiji-kun said that one time..."

"N-no, it wasn't stalking!" Shinichi sputtered out, feeling his cheeks brighten. "Barro, where around the agency would I have been able to hang out to spy on you..."

Kid snorted with laughter, causing Aoko to hit him upside the head. Shinichi glared in their direction, irritated that they were even in the same room. He would have rather discussed this with Ran ALONE, not with that annoying thief sitting in the corner with a girl that he seemed very friendly with.

"Sorry Tantei-kun, but you have to realize that was a poor choice of words." Kid pointed out, before Aoko slammed the heel of her foot onto his toes. He yelped, "ARGH! Woman what is WRONG with you? Alright, alright, I'll shut up...sheesh..."

"Why does he sound as if he knows everything that I don't?" Ran asked angrily. Kid's mouth snapped shut, and he recieved a potent death-glare from both Aoko and Shinichi. The thief coughed into his hand as the girl continued, "You...how many people know everything about what's going on with these people?"

"Ran..." Shinichi muttered, "I didn't TELL anybody...except for one of them."

"Shinichi, that's not what I asked." The girl snapped in reply.

"I told Agasa." Shinichi replied, "The other's who know found out because I slipped up in front of them, or they're directly involved in all of this as well. Ai Haibara, for example. And Iggy. Hattori found out when I made a mistake. Kid found out...and so did my parents because Hakase called them and told them."

"So you just decided not to tell your best friend." Ran snapped in irritation. Shinichi felt a well of annoyance at his friend, and opened his mouth. "I'm not an idiot Shinichi, I get that you had your reasons. It doesn't change the fact that I'm really pissed because you didn't tell me."

"I want to tell you the truth because you deserve to hear it." Shinichi said, locking eyes with her. "Not because you cornered me, or because you think I'm forced to tell you. I don't have to...I want to tell you. I want to tell you because of all the people out there I have faith that you'll understand me."

She stared at him for a moment, and Shinichi heard her sigh. "What happened Shinichi?"

He reached for his pocket, where he could bring out the truth once and for all...and felt his fingers twitch nervously. This was it, the moment he told her everything. The detective sighed through his nose when suddenly...

Pain, in his chest. So much that it drove him to his knees. Shinichi hissed through his teeth, felt his eyes stretch wide. "Ho...How long was I out...?" He choked out, clutching his chest. His heart seemed to be hell bent on beating it's way out of his chest. Ran dropped down so that she was standing near his head.

"Hours..." Kid said, realization in his tone. "Oh..."

"What?" Aoko squeaked, "Is he alright?"

"Shinichi?" Ran asked, all anger was gone. There was worry in her tone now. Immense worry. She got under his arm and helped him to his feet. "Shinichi are you okay?"

"Pocket..." Shinichi grunted, "Ran, get what's in my..."

He broke off, his knees both buckled when another pulse whipped through him. Ran barely managed to keep him in the air, her arms sliding so that she was embracing him just to keep him from falling. Slowly she lowered them both to the ground, so that he was kneeling in front of her, and so that she was holding him to her chest.

"Your heart is pounding..." Ran murmured. Shinichi unintentionally tightened his grip on her, holding her tightly. An almost childish act, as if squeezing somebody's hand could stop the pain from coming. "Shinichi something's wrong with you. What's happening? Why..."

"Please..." He whispered, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He felt her shudder around him, but didn't have the strength to do anything else. "Ran...I want you to know because I want to tell you...not because I ran out of time..."

"Are you dying?" Ran asked, her voice shrill with panic.

_It feels like it..._The detective thought in reply, balling her shirt up into his fists. He grit his teeth, and hissed through them. After the wave left he was trembling, and knew that he wouldn't have been able to stand up at that moment for anything in the whole world. A wry chuckle came through his throat, "You're going...to be really mad at me now Ran."

"Shinichi..." Ran said.

"Don't hate me." He muttered, desperate for her to understand. "That's all I...b-beg of you. Don't hate me when you find out. I never wanted...to use you in any...way. I just...Couldn't think of anything else...to do. Needed your dad...to help me get enough status...to find these damned people."

And it came to that. The main reason, upon any other reason, for not telling her. Even after knowing that her just being involved with Conan would mean her being in danger. Even after her almost coming on the secret so many times before. It wasn't because of Haibara sticking a gun in his face. It wasn't because he didn't trust her.

He was terrified, more than anything else in the world, that she'd hate him for keeping the secret from her. And as time progressed he became more and more afraid because he kept it so long. From the one person who he should have trusted with it in the first place.

"I would never hate you..." She said, tears flooding her eyes. "Why would you ever think that?"

"Because it's what I deserve." He croaked, tensing his shoulders. She was holding him by his shoulders, so he could look her in the eye. "I deserve...deserve to be hated. After what...I never told you. I should have...right away. I could never seem to find...find the words to say the truth Ran. I never could think of...exactly what to do or say."

"I can't hate you Shinichi." Ran said, looking almost hurt.

"Before you decide that please...grab what's in my pocket." Shinichi winced as the burning pain flooded through him. Melting him, he was going to change soon if she didn't hurry up. Ran's fingers went to the pocket of his jacket, and she pulled the object out. Confusion flashed in her eyes.

"What..." She held up the glasses she'd pulled out, her features flashing with the same confusion her eyes held. "Shinichi...why do you have Conan-kun's glasses..."

"Because..." He croaked, a bitter laugh working through his chest. "I am Conan, Ran."

* * *

Max looked at her watch. Her eyes narrowed and she felt her worries wash over her like a wave. Iggy and Shinichi both weren't back. And their time was up. She shut her eyes, worry made her so sick to her stomach. It was mixed with something like anguish. Because if they weren't back yet...

Still, they had a job to do.

"Max?" Gazzy said, sounding so very young and small.

She didn't answer the boy, only flicked open her cellphone so that she could send Hattori the proper coordinates. It was time for the police to get involved in this situation. It was time to start the opening steps to a coming battle between the light and the dark. The setting sun changed the sky to blood red.

_**

* * *

**_

"That's...not possible." Her mouth said the words before her brain really processed them. Because she'd always had suspicions that...that Conan was Shinichi. But he WASN'T a little boy. He was Shinichi, her Shinichi. And he was in a great deal of agony at the moment.

"Believe me...it is." Shinichi choked out, panic in his eyes. "Ran, please..."

He stopped, falling to the ground with something like a bitten back scream. Ran felt fear flash through her, and ran to sit him back up before she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She looked up in to Kid's eyes, saw him shake his head the tiniest bit. Ran glanced back at Aoko, who was just staring at the whole scene in perplexed shock.

"Watch, Mouri-san." Kid muttered, and pointed.

Shinichi was...was...shrinking. Ran felt her hands go to her face, and watched in something like horror. It took forever, yet it was all over in a single instant. Ran swallowed hard, and moved as soon as Kid's hand was off her shoulder. Hesitation flared through her, she was so confused.

"Shi...Shinichi?" She whispered. He looked up, his same intelligent blue eyes in the face of that child. It tore at her heart like a razor's edge. They were intelligent like Shinichi's yes, but the fear in them made him see so painfully child-like. Tears were running down her face.

"I always...always hated it..." Conan...no, Shinichi sat up and stared at the ground. "Always hated...when I made you cry. It's like getting my heart ripped out. Because every time I knew it was my damned fault. You'd get worried if I didn't call, but when I did call you'd cry."

"Shinichi." Ran sobbed, scooping him into her arms. He squirmed a bit, as if he didn't want to be held at the moment. After a bit he fell still, she held him close to her, ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I said all those awful things to Conan...I never imagined...no, I did didn't I? Oh Shinichi...I've been so cruel to you..."

"Barro..." Shinichi said with a cold laugh, "Why the hell are you apologizing?"

"Don't get the wrong idea buster." Ran snapped, pulling him away and holding him up by his shoulders. Shinichi winced as she glared into his eyes, "I'm all kinds of pissed off at you. But...you told me...and you wanted to tell me before you were forced to. That...that..."

"Please don't cry." Shinichi whimpered, sounding so small.

"I can't imagine how much you hate this." She laughed, pulling him into a hug again. She noticed that his cheeks were flushed bright red, and that his eyes were wide with surprise. "You, of all people, being forced to act like a little kid all the time. You have so much pride, that must have practically killed you."

"I'm glad you find my situation humorous." Shinichi replied, his tone sounding dry and irritated. Even if it was so young...how had she not KNOWN, with every fibre of her being that this little boy had been him? It was painfully obvious now, looking back at all the things that had happened.

Ran stiffened. Her cheeks flared with color.

"We BATHED together!" She shrieked, holding Shinichi in front of her again. The shrunken detective winced, his own face becoming rather red, and Ran noticed that Kid had burst into laughter behind her. The karate champion turned a death-glare in the thief's direction that shut him up quickly enough before turning her potent gaze back to him. She set him down, and glared. "You PERVERT!"

"Oi, oi! YOU dragged me off! How was I supposed to refuse without sounding suspicious?" Shinichi protested. Ran would have liked to beat him senseless, and had half a mind too, but he happened to be about three feet shorter than she was at the moment. Instead she gave him a bitter glare. Kid had lost his common-sense and was laughing again. Ran chose to ignore him.

"When you get back to normal Kudou Shinichi I'm going to KILL you." She snarled at him. He looked a tad bit on the pale side as she set him down and looked away from him. That wasn't the only thing either. She'd told Conan that she was in love with Shinichi before...

"Well Iggy was smart when he told me to pack smaller clothing." Shinichi commented wryly, standing up and brushing himself off. Ran blinked at him before he glanced back at her, "Would you mind turning around please? I have to get out of these clothes..."

"Oh..." Ran blinked, and turned around.

It gave her a chance to think. Shinichi was Conan. He had been living with her for all of these years, though she couldn't imagine why he would want to do something like that in the first place. Ran fidgeted with the sleeves of her shirt. So...in a way he had been there...protecting her all this time. Ran blinked, remembering all the times Conan had bravely rushed into a dangerous situation for her.

"These people...that have us." Shinichi said quietly, when his tone was so serious he sounded more like his older self. Ran turned to look at her shrunken detective to see that he was fully clothed, except for the glasses that she realized were on the ground next to her. When had she set them down? "They're the ones that did this to me. They found me when we went to Tropical Land, and I followed one of Them into an alley. I got knocked out...and They gave me some poison."

"You were poisoned..." Ran said.

"Yes." Shinichi looked back up at her. Her heart wrenched a little, just because of the fact that...he seemed so very small at that moment. "It was supposed to kill me. In fact, it usually does. There's about a ninety-eight percent success rate with that poison, according to the person who created it. Only three people have ever survived after taking it. The scientist that created it, me...and...ah...Iggy."

"Iggy's not a little kid either?" Ran said, blinking in shock. Shinichi shook his head as she stared at him. "Wh...how did you know him then...he...you said he was your brother..."

"Yeah, that was something we came up with so he'd have somewhere to stay. Believe me, he never wanted to lie to you Ran. He wanted me to tell you right away actually." Shinichi laughed bitterly, "Of course he was probably right. I should have told you sooner Ran...I'm sorry."

"Shinichi please...just continue with what you were saying." Ran didn't want to deal with the fact that he hadn't told her for so long. She wanted him to explain this. She needed to know...why.

"They thought I was dead, and it was better that way. Because if They knew I was alive They would have hunted me down right away." Shinichi shuddered, something like fear flaring in his eyes. He glared around the room, "Of course it was only a matter of time I suppose...damn, I hate being on the lower hand with these people."

Shinichi stayed silent for a moment, looking every bit like a sullen little boy. Ran would have laughed if it didn't make her heart hurt for him so much. She had laughed earlier, but she knew...without a doubt, that he would hate being in this situation more than anybody else in the world.

He had too much pride not to.

"I told Agasa right after it happened, and he told me not to tell you. Because of that I ended up inventing up Edogawa Conan kind of on the spot. Agasa-hakase has been really helpful actually. He makes gadgets for me so that I can at least try and continue being a detective through...erm...your father." Shinichi laughed nervously.

"What...does that mean?" Ran asked, her tone wary.

"Well you see..." Shinichi croaked, fiddling with something. "There's this watch Hakase made me that kind of...you know, shoots small tranquilizer's out. And with this bow-tie I can change my voice to sound like anybody I want to."

He pulled out a bow-tie from his pocket and gave her a wincing grin.

"So...you knock Tou-san out...so that you can make it seem like he's solving cases." Ran said slowly. She didn't know whether to praise him for being clever, or to beat him within an inch of his life for using her poor father like a puppet. She winced suddenly, something occurring to her. "So he's basically a fraud. Shinichi, what were you going to do if you got back to normal?"

"Become his apprentice." Shinichi said, his face looking dead serious. She stared at him in shock, "Yeah, most people would be completely horrified. It was my hope though, that I'd be able to do that and work with him. That way I could drop hints on him. He's not as hopeless...well, alright, he's pretty hopeless. But he's not COMPLETELY useless. Nudging him in the right direction can get some pretty interesting results sometimes. I'd just have to work with him until he retired..."

"You would put up with that?" Ran asked, arching an eyebrow at him. He chuckled at her in amusement.

"You'd kill me if I didn't." Shinichi pointed out. He coughed, "Hakase called my parents, and that's where the checks come from. Hattori found out when I tried to knock him out and use his voice. He woke up halfway through my deduction and nailed me. That was back at the Sherlock Holmes case..."

"Oh..." Ran blinked, remembering how Heiji had seemed to be staring at 'Conan' that entire time.

"Haibara abandoned the organization and I found her. I can't really go into much detail about her, same with Iggy. He was just trying to help a girl out in an alley and ended up getting killed for being a witness." Shinichi shook his head, "Ironic, really, if you think about it. He really is blind after all."

"Poor Iggy-kun..." Ran muttered. "How old is he really?"

"Fifteen, or so." Shinichi shrugged, and looked a little worried. "I hope he's alright."

"They took him somewhere else." Ran explained, feeling her heart hurt for her dear friend. He really had been close to Iggy, that hadn't been fake had it? She looked at Shinichi with some concern before saying, "I think that's enough of an explanation for now Shinichi..."

Silence stretched between them.

"I wish you told me sooner." She whispered, pulling him into a hug again. "But I think we'll be okay with this. I'm fine with you being Conan...but I am going to get back at you. One way or another, over the fact that you never told me Shinichi. Don't think for one single second that you've been let off the hook."

"I wouldn't." Shinichi snorted. "Now could you please put me down? I don't like feeling like a doll."

"Nope." Ran replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "This is part of my payback. I get to hold onto you as long as you're in a convenient size to do so."

Both Aoko and Kid snickered in the corner. Shinichi looked a little embarassed.

"Raaaan..." Shinichi whined, sounding like a little kid again. The funny thing was that he was probably not really trying to at the moment, what with the fact that everyone knew who he was in this room. The detective heaved an irritated sigh, "At least put me down so that I can see if my idea to get us out of here will work."

"I'm afraid that won't work." Vodka's voice made every person in the room stiffen. Eyes turned to face him, he had the gun cocked and his grin was rather wicked. "So that's how you managed to hide from aniki...it's too bad. It actually was a rather clever way of hiding."

Silence, Shinichi's eyes were narrowed with anger and fear. Ran felt herself tighten her grip on him instinctively, stepping away from the gun that was trained on them. "It's too bad that I'm going to have to kill you myself. Aniki would have enjoyed the job immensely."

Suddenly Vodka pitched forward, and fell to the ground.

"Yeah, but then that happened." The person who had struck him said with something like a cheerful smirk. A bat was twirled in the air, and Ran felt her eyes stretch wide in shock. Shinichi was completely sputtering, as if he didn't have any idea at all how to react to this person being here. Aoko just looked confused since she didn't know their rescuer. Kid was chuckling and shaking his head. "Wow, you guys aren't exactly happy to see me...Ran I thought that YOU would at least be glad I came. It was your message that brought me here after all."

"SONOKO!" Shinichi yelled, shock making his eyes wide. Ran thought he looked rather humorous at the moment, and as Sonoko swung the door open she hugged her friend tightly.

* * *

The door slid open behind us. I grabbed Shiho a little tighter, but we were easily pulled apart. We were dragged down a hall, and then shoved into another room. I knew instantly that it was bigger. I found Shiho's fingers, held her hand tightly in my own. A sign of reassurance? Maybe...

"I love you." I murmured to her.

"It's more likely to be mere infatuation." Shiho said in her calm voice. The fear was still so very obvious to me. You'd have to be stupid not to have fear though, wouldn't you? "Infatuation happens quickly, and love grows slowly."

"Nah, see it definitely did not just hit me when I met you." I pointed out, "Took me this long to figure it out, so it must be love and not infatuation right? I don't know what your opinion of an afterlife is Shiho but...I hope you're there if this is really the end. It'd kinda suck without you anyways."

"Isn't that just sweet." The voice of That Person sounded in the corner. Shiho's fingers gripped mine tighter. Me...I felt like that voice was a sock right to my gut. My eyes stretched wide in surprise as The Person came down from wherever they were sitting and kneeled to be next to me.

I never would have imagined...in a million years...

The first thing out of my mouth was...

"Max...was right." I croaked, disbelief making my heart pound. Even if I couldn't see his smile, I knew it was there. A sick smile that made me want to shiver with fear. Yet I was hot with anger to. Rage, and I felt my eyes narrow in hatred. "We should have never trusted you..."

"Jeb..."

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_**HOLY CRAP!**_

_**That chapter was really long X3**_

**_Longest one yet, even compared to white Day_**

_**ZOMFG so many epic things happened...**_

_**I made Sonoko come to their rescue because I think she's a cool character that deserves more lurve.**_

_**And for some reason the idea of her with a bat was very amusing to me.**_

_**Also, Jeb is The Person! -gasps-**_

_**Why you ask? Because I don't trust him.**_

_**I don't give a flying rat's tushie if he got shot in the last book.**_

_**I know it's some elaborate hoaxe to gain the trust of the Flock.**_

_**So I decided to make him the worst baddy in DC! -cackles-**_

_**It was also a neato plot twist if you ask me. X3**_

_**Reviews are loved **_


	32. The Bitter Agony

_Disclaimer:_

_Nuh-uh_

_**ARGH!**_

_**My job is getting in the way of my writing.**_

_**It's V E R Y irritating.**_

_**Elena Forest- X3 Yeah, it was definitely the longest. And I actually am really happy that I can invoke emotion in people. That's my goal. :3 YES! Success with the Conan confession! I worked very very hard on that part of the chapter. **_

_**Em Phantom- Be prepared for more twists. Because they're fun...X3**_

_**Static Messenger- It was surprising wasn't it? I planned her to pop her head in from the very beginning, in fact I knew she'd be involved in these chapters when I first started writing the story. I love Sonoko...Anyways, thank you for that. I'm glad you liked that confession, I put a lot of thought into it.**_

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_Chapter Thirty-two- The Bitter Agony_

Heiji grimaced, taking another sharp turn into an alleyway. He swore a little when it turned out to be a dead end. Why in the hell did he have to come to Tokyo? It hadn't helped any...bar finding Fang he supposed. Though his winged friend took off with Takagi-keiji and the rest of the police force that would make up Kudou's back-up.

The dark-skinned teen rolled behind a garbage can, careful not to touch the sides of it. He shut his eyes, knowing that if Kazuha figured out what he had done she'd probably kill him. If he survived this...which he probably wouldn't.

What had that idiot detective done exactly, you ask innocently? It was quite simple. Heiji had informed the police and the FBI of Kudou's where abouts. He already figured out that the way that organization had even found Hakase and the kids was because of the cellphone. It would stand to reason that, as soon as he relayed that ever so important message to the authorities, that Heiji would throw it away.

But he had been terrified that, if he tossed it away, they'd figure out a way to hack into it's memory. Which meant that they could find the people most important to him. The only people who ever really called him on his cell were his parents, Kudou...and Kazuha.

Which was why he hadn't thrown it away. Which was why he had been stupid enough to get himself cornered in an alley. He couldn't SEE who was running after him in the darkness. Hell, he wasn't even a hundred percent sure he was actually being chased.

No, scratch that, he was sure. He didn't have to see, hear, or even notice any evidence to know. It was a feeling deep in his gut, and Heiji was a young man who often did things by what his gut was telling him. Now it was screaming at him that he was in danger.

_Not a problem._ He thought stubbornly, clenching his jaw tight._ As long as Kazuha is safe it isn't a problem at all..._

"I was thinking..." Heiji jerked into attention, head whipping around so that he could try and pinpoint the voice that was echoing so coldly around him. There was an irritated sighing sound, and somebody stepped out of the shadows. A young man, dressed all in black. "That somehow this would be more fun. At least something that would get me my own codename..."

"A grunt?" Heiji queried, standing up and giving the young man a cocky grin. Oh, he looked confident, but his heart was pounding a million miles a minute. "Does that mean I got lucky?"

His opponent grinned, "That depends on how suicidal you are..."

* * *

Shinichi would never have guessed, not in a million years, that he'd be this happy to see Suzuki Sonoko. At the moment he was restraining the urge to hug her half to death. He settled for beaming at her in a way that neither Shinichi nor Conan had ever done before.

"Ah, so it seems Suzuki-san has come to our rescue." Kid stated over in the corner. Even with his hat tipped forward, Shinichi could see a small smile tugging at the corners of the thief's lips. "It's rather ironic for me..."

"It's all nice and lovely that this happened." Shinichi pointed out, reality catching up to him and sobering him up quite a bit. "But if we stay here for much longer we're bound to be discovered. Let's face it, Sonoko got in here only by a fluke. She's lucky not to be dead yet."

"Well, that's the last time I ever rescue YOU glasses brat." Sonoko sniffed, twirling the bat in her hand and gave the shrunken detective a rather irritable look. Sonoko bent down, rifling through the unconscious Vodka's pockets until she pulled up a ring of simply two keys.

"Wait..." Shinichi ordered, snatching them from her himself. Sonoko snorted in irritation, but the detective only gave her a sour look in return. He looked down at the two keys, and back to the lock on the door. Hesitantly Ran came up behind him.

"Shinichi?" She queried, he noticed Sonoko looking at her a little oddly from where she stood, but he ignored that and held up the keys so she could see them.

"It's too easy." Kid said from his corner. "Tantei-kun is afraid that one of them might be booby-trapped or something, maybe cause an alarm to go off or even kill the person who was trying to unlock the door. These people aren't exactly known for carelessness, and having only two keys seems a bit suspicious."

"Exactly." Shinichi murmured, his blue eyes darting back to the keys he had in hand. "Yet it would make sense for the person guarding us to have keys as well. Especially if we might be moved around. Ran, did you notice which key they used when they tossed me in here?"

"They look exactly the same to me." Aoko said, peeking over Shinichi's shoulder. "Like you said, Shinichi-kun, it makes sense that somebody would have keys. Perhaps the other key is for wherever they took your friend? It looks pretty normal to me..."

"The thing that bother's me is that he was going to kill us in here." Shinichi muttered, putting his chin in his hand and narrowing his blue eyes in thought. "Why would he take the risk of one of us finding a way out of this cell and then getting overpowered and having the key be used? If I was much smaller I could easily have slipped through the bars..."

"Okay, I know things are a little intense right now, but I could have sworn that about two times you guys have called the glasses brat over there Shinichi." Sonoko was pointing at Shinichi, and he arched an eyebrow at her. He would normally have been irritated by her, but since she technically just saved everyone he believed he owed her his patience at least.

Ran glanced over at him and he shrugged while inwardly wincing. It was too late for Sonoko now anyways, even if they did get out of this mess the girl had gone against Them. So he shrugged his shoulders and heaved an internal sigh. What was one more person riding the secret train?

"Sonoko...Conan IS Shinichi." Ran said softly, looking down at him. Shinichi blinked up at her, and then looked at the girl that was Ran's good friend. The girl was just staring between Shinichi and Ran as though she was incredibly confused. Then suddenly...

Sonoko pointed and laughed. Ran made a nervous sound, and Shinichi full out scowled at her. He wasn't sure what she found funny about this situation at all, but he certainly didn't care much for her humour at his predicament.

"If any other person..." Sonoko said, holding her sides from her laughter. "Told me that Kudou had shrunk I wouldn't buy it, but Ran..."

She burst into laughter again, and Ran cast a worried look over at Shinichi who was fuming rather furiously by now. Oh yeah, now he could remember why he had a hard time standing that girl. It was NOT funny, being forced to be a seven year old kid.

"I can't belieeeve this..." Sonoko had to lean against the opposite wall in an attempt to regain her composure. Shinichi was about two seconds from finding something to toss at her head or something when she coughed into her hand. "Well I suppose it was a good way for you to humble yourself up."

"Oh har. Dee. Har." Shinichi snapped at her, irritation clear in his tone. Sonoko just stuck her tongue out at him as he turned his attention back to the keys he had in hand. He stared at them for a few moments before he grabbed the first one.

"Tantei-kun are you just going to..." Kid trailed off as Shinichi worked the key into the hole. "Stick it in there..."

There was a moment where everyone held their breath, and Shinichi turned the key. Every person, bar Sonoko who just looked slightly irritated, flinched at the loud clicking noise. However the door swung out under Shinichi's weight and the shrunken teenager hopped down to the ground.

"Well what do you know, no problem after all." Kid said, tipping his hat down as he walked passed Shinichi and out into the main room. Sonoko gave him a brilliant smile, and Aoko stepped between them looking ever so slightly irked.

"Sonoko..." Shinichi said, glancing at the girl. She blinked at him as he added, "I need you to get Ran out of this place."

"Aoko too." Kid added.

"But Iggy-kun is still here." Ran protested, "And there is no way in hell that I'm leaving you to your own devices Kudou Shinichi. I've been left in the dark over this thing far too long..."

"And I'm not ditching you either...Kid." Aoko said, hesitating slightly before saying the alias. Shinichi glanced over at her, narrowing his eyes. What was that about? Did she know Kid's true identity? If that was the case, why would she choose to keep it a secret when her own father chased after him for a living?

"I won't leave if Ran's staying." Sonoko added stubbornly. Shinichi let out a growl of irritation, and glared at the group around him.

"No, we can't have you all tagging along." Shinichi said, "Sonoko, like I said earlier, that was just a fluke. Don't look insulted, because it's the truth. I have no idea how in the hell you managed to get passed these people. They aren't your average criminals. They kill far more than any other murderer we've come in contact with. Please Ran, I couldn't take it if you got hurt."

At this he locked eyes with Ran, pleading with her to understand. Instead of understanding he only saw a flash of pride mingled with something very close to frustration. "And what makes you think that I could get hurt Shinichi? I'm not weak..."

"I'm not SAYING that!" Shinichi said, trying not to feel his own twinge of frustration. "Ran I don't think ANYONE is going to make it through this alive, but I've got to try and save Iggy-kun. I can't take you in there knowing that you'll be killed."

How was it that, for all of his intelligence, he always said exactly the WRONG thing when it came to his best friend? Her eyes widened in horror, and then narrowed into a stubborn look that he knew he had no hope of defeating. Not in a million years. A sigh exploded from his chest, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't do anything to get yourself killed then." Shinichi snapped, angry with her for coming. She seemed a bit wounded at his tone and he winced, "Not that you would do anything stupid Ran. You're smart enough and strong enough..."

He trailed off. There was no way he would be able to explain why he didn't want Ran to come. Not in a way that would make her listen. Because he couldn't quite figure out how to tell her exactly WHY he couldn't stand the thought of her running into danger with him. Because of him.

_**

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Somehow, probably stupidly, the fact that the boss of the people who had screwed up my new friend's life was somebody I KNEW wiped my fear away. It was replaced with something else, something so potent that I don't think I've ever felt an emotion this strong. A burning feeling, deep in my gut. One that had me wanting to reach for something, anything, and beat Jeb to death with it.

I was just standing there, not the most productive thing in the world. Well, I was standing in front of Shiho, if that gives me credit for anything. Though I don't really think it was to protect her or anything like that. I'm sorry to say it, but my attention was completely dominated by the asshole who had put us through hell.

"You." I spat, clenching my fists and feeling a tremor go through me. "You...Jeb..."

"Ah, it seems you're a bit tongue-tied Iggy." Jeb said softly, dropping his tone so that he sounded almost fatherly. This ignited another fire in my stomach. It was like I was being consumed with rage. I'd never, EVER, been this angry before.

"What are you doing to him?" Shiho snapped, jerking me from my thoughts momentarily. Her cold anger was filled with a fear that I had never heard before. I blinked, confused as to what she'd even be talking about. She pulled me back, and I instantly felt a bit better. Not nearly as angry as before.

"Interesting gem this is..." Jeb purred, and I sensed the color red flashing through the air. It was the strangest thing my special ability had done yet. Usually I had to touch something to sense it's color field, or, like in Antartica, be surrounded completely by a nuetral color like black or white.

Not this time, with that flashing of red there was something else. Something strangely...powerful. Jeb chuckled, a low sound in the back of his throat and I could almost see him spinning whatever he had in his hands around. I stepped back again, narrowing my eyes.

"So what have you got there?" I queried, the calm I felt was strangely cold compared to that fury I had earlier. Shiho gripped the back of my shirt, buried her fingers into the fabric and twisted it into her hands.

"The Pandora Gem." Shiho whispered, "It's supposed to grant immortality..."

"Really now?" I snorted, "That seems a bit...mythical for people like this don't you think? If Shinichi were here he'd probably have some sort of fit."

"Oh I assure you this is quite real." Jeb's voice had me stiffening, drawing my attention quickly and effectively. My hands tightened into fists once more, and I found myself edging back another step. At least I wasn't feeling that strange wave of fury like before. "It has a few more...interesting abilities as well. I can't gain immortality until the comet comes, but knowing that this is the real gem..."

"You're pretty damn sure of yourself." I said, snorting in irritation.

Again, facing the main boss dude Iggy. I probably shouldn't have been so relaxed but it was hard for me to stay focused. It felt...surreal I guess. Even though Jeb had betrayed us once before I never really expected him to do it again. It had me reeling, I was having a hard time believing that.

And...admittedly, part of me was relieved that it WAS Jeb. Because Jeb wasn't somebody without weaknesses. Jeb would be easy to punch in the face. I was glad that it was somebody I had dealt with before, somebody that I could take on.

Another part of me was hoping, beyond all hope, that he would somehow look to me and try and be a father again. I wouldn't accept it, but if it would keep Shiho and I from getting killed...

"I already demonstrated the power on you earlier. Though I'm not sure how it works...seems that I can manipulate emotions with this...make them rather extreme." Jeb chortled softly before coughing and saying. "Well Iggy I can't say that I'm exactly happy that you got dragged into this."

"Why in the HELL are you using a tone of voice that makes it seem as if you're scolding me?" I snarled, narrowing my eyes dangerously and just daring that bastard to say something again. I wasn't under the influence of that stupid gem or whatever, it wasn't as potent as that. Still, I was really irked to say the least.

He only continued on with something close to a tired sigh, "I really would have preferred you not get yourself into this mess...it seems that I'm going to have to irradicate you though. Especially since you're working with that traitor."

As he spoke something changed in his voice. It was the first time I ever heard that tone in such a familiar voice before, and it sent chills cascading up and down my spine. Shiho and I simultaneously stepped back again. There was cold hatred in that voice, for Shiho and anyone associated with her.

"Something tells me that you take things a bit too personally." I said, but the words sounded tinny and weak even to me. Jeb chuckled, a low sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was NOT an amused laugh. It was the kind of laugh that I imagine a cat would make when cornering a mouse.

"Yes, perhaps." Jeb said, "But things like this work like clockwork, a traitor can disrupt the way things move. And Sherry here was rather important to me...what with that research she was working on. A veritable fountain of youth, only in pill form...alas, it had a nasty habit of killing most of the people who took it."

"You wanted the Apotoxin...so you could make yourself younger?" I said, Shiho seemed to be at a loss for words behind me over this. I blinked, "You...WANTED to get shrunk?"

"Think of it! To live for an eternity..." Jeb purred, "Everytime you began to get older you could just take the pill and shave ten years from your life...It never quite developed correctly. Unfortunate really, that she would leave when we probably were going to dispose of her anyways. We don't need something as petty as an age changing pill when we have the Elixer of Life itself."

In case you all managed to somehow miss it, I think that Jeb is already the mayor of crazy town. And heading a big organization filled with guys that really really like to kill people. Yikes.

I would have liked to say something sarcastic, or something snide. I would have liked to seem strong and proud in this situation. Except I wasn't. I was kind of freaked out, because when you come up against somebody who is positively insane but incredibly intelligent...that's one of the scariest things you can ever possibly face.

It was this that had me frozen a bit, and it wasn't until the door opened up behind us that I jerked into reality. I could tell...somehow right away, that it was Scotch coming up behind us. He was nervous, it spiked the air and made me feel strangely dizzy. Perhaps that was because of the gem as well...

"Boss..." Scotch whimpered, shifting uncomfortably, "It seems that...um...you see..."

"Just say what needs to be said Scotch." Jeb said, the calm in his tone hinting slightly towards impatience. I didn't like the way it made Shiho shudder behind me, or the way it made Scotch whimper like a dog that's been kicked in the ribs.

"When I lead the detective here...and the bird-boy..." Scotch whimpered, and choked as if he couldn't figure out how to possibly say what he really wanted to say next. "They seem to have set it up so that...that the police would come...later. They're here...along with the FBI...and they've got the place surrounded."

The silence was scarier than anything that could have been said. It was so complete, and I think it was because every single person in the room was holding their breath. Me, Shiho, and Scotch in the corner. It was so quiet that I heard the sound the chair made when Jeb tightened his fingers on the armrest.

"You...lead the enemy straight to our door." Jeb said, anger evident in his tone. Cold anger, that made me really really glad that I wasn't the one it was focused on. Then it WAS turned on me, and I could barely keep myself from shrinking away. "Iggy you've brought much more trouble than you're worth!"

They don't seem like scary words, I know, but believe me in the way that he said them...if you HEARD that you'd be wanting to hide under your covers or something for the rest of your life. Believe me, I wanted to run like hell and never look back.

I don't know how he conveyed the message that brought the next cast member of the play into that room, but the next thing I knew the door was opening behind us. Scotch almost screamed, except that I think his throat was too paralyzed by astonishment to make a sound.

"Gin..." Jeb purred from his spot, "It seems that you're going to get your wish. We have Sherry here, ready for you to effectively get rid of. As well as this boy that troubles me, and Scotch too. Finish them, would you Gin?"

"With pleasure." The cold happiness in that voice made me sick to my stomach.

"Oh...and could you do me a wonderful favor?" Jeb murmured, amusement clear in his tone. That amusement chilled me to my very core, and I heard him open up some small case. "With the children I'd appreciate it if you would use this...We're going to have a little test, children. We're going to see...how many times you two can shrink with that poison shoved down your throats."

* * *

Ran had her back pressed up flat against the wall. Everyone else was doing the same, except for Shinichi who was peeking around the corner with an intense expression on his too young face. Ran watched as he paused, and then motioned for them to move.

It had been like this for an incredibly long amount of time. They were bound to get caught eventually, it was only a matter of when. Ran felt herself instinctively ready her fists for a quick fight. She was on edge more than she ever had been before.

Ran was the only one who wasn't carrying a weapon of some sort. After Sonoko began to knock out the people they managed to catch off guard, Shinichi had insisted on taking the weapons they had. Shinichi was holding a gun of all things, though she couldn't imagine him of all people using it. Kid had a lead pipe somebody had been carrying around, and Aoko found a mop in the hall that she was using.

Ran had her hands, and she knew that was all she would need.

"Ran..." Sonoko whispered. Ran watched as Shinichi's shoulders stiffened, and he shot her friend a look that can only be described as scolding. It was almost humorous on the face of someone who looked so young. Still, Ran glanced over at her friend. Sonoko waited until Shinichi looked away with an irritated snort before continuing in a low voice, "Am...I not very smart for coming here?"

"Eh?" Ran blinked, "If it weren't for you we'd be stuck back there Sonoko."

"But I'm sure that if Shinichi looked back at what I've done to get this far he'd notice some mistakes." Sonoko spoke softly, trying not to let Shinichi hear probably. Ran knew he could, her detective had the hearing of a bat for goodness sake. Still, he must have noticed the distress in her tone because he acted as if he couldn't. "Like...I didn't take the weapons away when I knocked those people out. I never even thought of that."

"It's okay." Ran assured her, trying to ignore the sharp look Shinichi had cast her friend's way. His eyes were narrowed slightly, and a look of worry had entered them. "They're bound to realize that we've gotten out sooner or later anyways Sonoko."

"True enough." Shinichi stated calmly. It blew Ran away how much he sounded like himself when he wasn't acting...so cute. She eyed the shrunken detective, privately marvelling at the fact that he was her best friend shoved into an incredibly cute package. He caught her staring and shot her a look that only he could truly pull off. "Something on my face?"

"No." Ran said, blushing slightly and glowering at the idiot detective. He only gave her a flat sare and she found herself tearing her gaze away to stare at the opposite wall. How had she never noticed? Every moment she spent with Shinichi after he told her the truth made her realize just how stupid she had been not to know that he was her beloved detective.

Shinichi watched her for a moment before directing his attention to Kid. The thief was very close to Aoko, and every time they stopped his friend ended up bumping into him and blushing furiously. If it were any other situation Ran would have been immensely amused by this.

"Kid." Shinichi said, "The deeper we get in here the more careful we have to be. I want to say something before we have to stop talking all together."

Ran blinked, looking down at her shrunken childhood friend with a feeling of confusion. He seemed so intense right now, and she almost inwardly laughed. It was obvious to her, right away, what his problem was. He'd figured something out about the Kid.

Kid's eyes held barely concealed wariness. Ran watched as he tipped his hat further, unconsciously showing his emotions. It was so strange, every other time Ran had ever watched the thief he had been a master at concealing what he was like and what he thought. Ran's eyes darted to Aoko, perhaps he was just more relaxed around his good friend?

"It is my belief that humans are creatures of habit." Shinichi stated, almost as reading Ran's mind. "It would make sense to think that you would be more relaxed around Aoko-san that way. It also explains why she wouldn't betray your identity despite the fact that her father makes a living out of tracking you. It's your habit, as a close personal friend of Aoko-san, to act in a relaxed manner around her."

"Oh?" Kid said, a wry grin appearing on his features. "You seem to think you've gotten me all figured out, Tantei-kun."

"Do I...Kuroba-kun?" Shinichi asked with a cocky grin. Kid did not reply, but Ran was having a hard time hiding her smile. Shinichi could be an amazing detective and it showed up at the strangest times sometimes. Shinichi shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, It's only circumstantioul evidence that I've gathered up so far. I won't be able to really catch you until some other time. Perhaps your next heist."

"And if this happens to be my last heist?" Kid asked with a smirk.

Shinichi paused for a moment, Ran noticed him watching Kid carefully. As if he was trying to figure out exactly what the thief could mean when he said something like that. After this moment the small detective evenly replied, "Then I will regret not being able to clash with you again, Kid."

"Does this mean that Tantei-kun WANTS me to continue stealing?" Kid asked with a mischevious grin. "If THATS the case..."

"You know that's not what I meant." Shinichi snapped irritably. Kid chortled in amusement before Sonoko cleared her throat and pointed to the empty hallway with her bat.

"We should get moving while nobody is around." Sonoko stated, giving Shinichi a look of irritation. Ran almost laughed at her friend. It was kind of amusing, the way Sonoko and Shinichi didn't get along. Ran normally wouldn't have liked to have two friends that clashed like that, but she somehow enjoyed it that the one thing that they could agree on was their friendship with Ran.

Sonoko flashed Ran a grin, probably noticing her slight amusement. It was then that it happened. A sort of whistling noise that rent the air. Sonoko's hand flew back, and was pinned against the wall. The bat clattered to the ground with a metallic clang.

Ran hardly processed Sonoko's scream before Shinichi yanked her back. Another whistling sound whizzed right by Ran's head. Ran felt shock reverberate through her as Sonoko tried to remove what had pinned her hand to the wall. An arrow.

Ran moved to free her friend in that instant, snapping into motion the same instant another whistling tore through the air. Sonoko's shriek was suddenly, and very quickly, cut off. There was a horrible sound that came with it. Something that resembled an overripe watermelon being stabbed with a fork. Blood began to drip on the floor, flowing from around the arrow that protruded from Sonoko's chest.

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Shinichi yanked Ran back with enough force to send them both crashing to the ground. He had to roll just to avoid being crushed by his friend, and was on his feet in the same movement. His fingers went to the side of his feet, and he swore. He wasn't wearing his super-kick shoes, he'd given them to Iggy.

"I figured it was this bitch that knocked me out." A man said, lazily strolling up the previously empty corridor. A crossbow was pointed at the ground, he was regarding the escaped prisoners with something like disgust. "Scotch can't do a damned thing right, can he? It's a wonder how he even got a codename."

"Sonoko!" Ran shrieked, so loudly that Shinichi actually jumped in startled surprise. His friend had her hands plastered to her face, her eyes were stretched wide with complete and utter horror. A keening sound wrenched through her, making Shinichi's own heart break a little. Ran's pleading violet gaze latched onto him. Seemed to cling to him... "Shinichi, you have to help Sonoko!"

The man laughed, "Sweetheart do you have any idea how powerful these are?" He raised the crossbow and Shinichi instinctively stood in front of Ran. "Your little friend has a hole in her, that arrow's probably embedded into the wall behind her."

"Shinichi!" Ran pleaded, grabbing his sleeve. "Help her!"

Shinichi didn't know what to do. Ran was on the verge of hysteria, but they happened to be right in front of somebody who was going to try and kill them soon. Shinichi's heart wrenched as he glanced over at Sonoko. There was no way, no possible chance, that the girl was alive. If the arrow hadn't pierced her heart it would have crushed the bones in her chest. The shards alone would tear her lungs to pieces.

"I wish she could have at least learned my codename first." The man said with a scowl, "You can call me Kamikaze."

"A drink that's set on fire." Shinichi stated in a cold voice. He added, "It can also refer to one who is on a suicide mission."

With this he raised his pistol. Amusement flared in the eyes of Kamikaze, and Ran visibly stiffened behind him. Shinichi wouldn't shoot, even against a man like this he didn't know if he'd be able to take another life. He dealt with murder too much, knew the price was too high...yet dangerous criminals were sometimes handled with lethal force...

He still had no right to take another human life. He just hoped that Kamikaze wouldn't think that.

"Don't move that crossbow a centimeter." Shinichi said, surprised by how very cold his voice sounded at the glanced over at Ran. She was trembling behind him, and out of the corner of his eye he could see her eyes widened in shock.

Whether it was because of Sonoko's death or his supposed murderous reaction to it, Shinichi wasn't entirely sure. While it might have been fooling her Kamikaze didn't buy it for a second. He only laughed, and pointed the crossbow in a way that told Shinichi it was aimed for the center of his forehead.

"I don't know if you know this boy..." Kamikaze said, "But there is a certain look in somebody's eyes when they're truly ready to take a life. You aren't. I see the hesitation there, just as well as you can see the murderous intent in mine."

The sound of a gun going off made Shinichi jump, and drop the pistol he had been holding like it was something on fire. He realized, as soon as his hands let go of it, that it wasn't his gun that had gone off at all. His dark blue eyes darted to the figure standing languidly in the corner as Kamikaze pitched forward. His mouth was open in an 'o' of surprise as he held his wounded stomach. Their rescuer fired again, this time at the man's head. He fell down and died.

"Sonoko?" Ran said, hopefulness entering her tone. Shinichi only shook his head a tiny bit. Ran was clearly in shock, the girl was still against the wall, her blood already beginning to dry. Shinichi continued to stand in front of Ran as the woman entered the room.

"Vermouth." Shinichi growled.

* * *

I felt my stomach lurch into my throat, and it was then that I snapped my wings open. I whirled, grabbing Shiho around the waist and launched us both into the air. Breathlessly I yelled at her, "Windows, anything we can fly through, it'd be nice if you'd point me in the right direction!"

"Left!" Shiho yelled, and I banked very sharply. A gun fired, and I bit back a yell as the bullet tore through the muscle and bone of my left wing. Since I was already banking that way I couldn't recover, and I slammed into the ground. "Iggy!"

Gin's hand wrapped around my ankle, and I was yanked away from her. Shiho let out a shriek. I'd NEVER heard her make a sound like that, and it really bothered me that she ever even had too. Gin tried to haul me into the air by my foot but I wasn't going to have any of that.

I slammed the heel of my foot against his jaw. I grinned in satisfaction at the accompanying snapping noise that followed this action. Gin didn't scream or anything, only tightened his grip on my ankle. My fingers somehow found the dial on my free foot, and I cranked it up.

If I happened to take off his head using super-kick shoes plus mutant bird-kid strength then boo-freaking-hoo. I slammed my foot down again, I missed though, and only ended up hurting myself instead. My foot only connected with the unyeilding floor, though it did create a nice crater.

Shiho's scream made me stiffen. She was trying to tackle Gin, but he only threw her to one side like she was nothing. She must have knocked herself out, (please God don't let her be dead) because she fell silent after that. Something metallic slashed through the air. Then Gin grabbed my other hand.

A knife poked against the palm of my hand. The very tip of it, Gin's face was close to mine. I could tell. His breath brushed against my face, "I would suggest you stop squirming around. It will only make matters much worse for you in the end, and I don't mind doing that at all."

"I would suggest..." I snarled through clenched teeth, "That you listen to your dentist every once in awhile dude. Your breath could knock a buzzard off of a shit wagon."

Not the brightest thing I've ever done, goading a psycho who admits to enjoy killing. The knife was twisted, and he began to bury it into my hand. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming because of the pain. It wasn't simply him stabbing me with a knife in my hand, that alone would hurt.

He was slowly twisting it in. I instinctively tried to fight against him, but somehow even with my super human strength I couldn't break from his grip. Jeb's laughter filled my ears, and stabbed at my stomach with every laugh. The blade scraped against bone, and I tried to wrench myself away again. My wrist twisted, and suddenly the knife broke through the bones in my hand.

I don't know how I didn't scream. I somehow bit it back. I wouldn't show him weakness. I wouldn't give this asshole the pleasure of listening to my agony. A gun was pressed against my kneecap, and I felt myself break out in a cold sweat. I kept my features defiant though.

"Take your medicine, and it will be all over in a matter of minutes." Gin purred, "Or don't take it. I'm enjoying myself doing this..."

"Says the guy who should REALLY be taking his pills every morning." I retorted, "Hey buddy, do you know when the men in white coats are going to come and take you to the happy farm?"

Really, somebody should teach me that when you're in THESE kinds of situations you should just keep your freaking mouth SHUT. Don't sass the guy holding the gun. It would be best if you didn't say anything at all. I couldn't help myself though. Sarcasm is how I show defiance, and I was not giving into this man.

I don't think Gin gave a crap. The gun fired, pain exploded in my knee, and I only just managed to turn my scream into a groan. The knife came down again, plunged into my shoulder. My side burned with agony as another cut was brought there. A gash was dug into my cheek, and after this I was panting with the energy it took to hold in my screams.

"What?" I croaked, "That it?"

I could almost hear the smile as Jeb said in a very sickening tone of voice, "Did you know that the femur is almost impossible to break? It's a very thick bone...they say it's the most pain the human psyche can endure."

The man holding me tightened his grip as Jeb spoke. My heart leaped into my throat, choking me with throbbing fear. Gin's fingers tightened, and he placed the heel of his foot against the side of my outer thigh. Shiho screamed something, but I couldn't hear it over the pounding of my heart. Gin braced himself, I heard him let out a short laughing noise, before he slammed his foot against my thigh and wrenched my leg so that it was going in two different directions.

I screamed. There wasn't anyway I could have controlled it. The snapping noise really registered before the pain even came, but when it came it came in a way that had me wanting to desperately scramble away from it. You can't get away from your own leg. Nasuea slammed into me, and I ended up slamming the back of my head against the floor because of the way I was jerking.

"Hold still." Gin said in his cold voice, I felt his fingers digging into my scalp, but only distantly. Something was shoved into my mouth, and I only just managed to spit it out. I thrashed, slamming into the box that Gin was carrying and sending the pills scattering on the floor.

I also managed to wrench around my leg. I shrieked, as, almost as soon as this registered in my brain Gin's foot stomped against it. I covered my mouth, afraid that he'd pick up another pill and attempt to shove one in my mouth. I wondered, distantly, just how childish that made me appear.

Gin picked me up by my broken leg. I screamed, and the world became a swirling mass of confusion as I was flying through the air without the use of my wings. I wondered what the deal was, somewhere in the back of my head, until I slammed into the wall on the other side. The pain in my leg caused by the fall was too much for me this time. Unconsciousness flooded over me.

_**

* * *

**_

"Kazuha-oneesan?" Ayumi's small voice snapped Kazuha from her doze. She hadn't even realized that she was tired enough to fall asleep like that. Kazuha glanced down at the childish face of that little girl, the worry in those small eyes made her heart hurt a little. "Are you tired?"

"I just dozed off." Kazuha said softly, patting Ayumi on the head. Genta was shuffling his large feet and gazing around the waiting room in a very uncomfortable way. Kazuha wished that the two would just go home, not because she wanted to see Heiji but because they were doing themselves little good worrying like this.

The doctors said that even the family wasn't allowed to see Mitsuhiko now. He was in surgery, and Kazuha had an awful feeling that the little boy wasn't going to have the strength to pull through this.

"Kazuha-oneesan..." Ayumi asked, tears filled the girl's eyes. Kazuha blinked, "You...Mitsuhiko probably isn't going to be okay...is he?"

There was tired hope in her young voice, as if she was clinging to only the very last shreds of it. Kazuha didn't think a girl that age should ever have to be this close to losing such a thing as hope. Hope for children was supposed to be eternal.

Yet Kazuha couldn't find the words to lie to the girl. She couldn't bring herself to bring up those hopes, for fear that if the boy did die they'd shatter around Ayumi like a fragile glass butterfly. Her muteness was over-rode by Genta. The boy looked furious.

"If he dies I'll never forgive him!" Genta announced, he looked between Kazuha and Ayumi. His young eyes burned with a strange passion, "That's why he has to be okay! Because Mitsuhiko is my friend, and he'll never do something to make me not ever forgive him!"

Kazuha stared at the young boy. He was so sure of this, it almost broke her heart.

Ayumi squealed in terror suddenly, making Kazuha blink in surprise. She was hiding behind her, staring into the hall of the hospital with eyes that were filled with absolute terror. "That's the people!" She cried out, a choked sound that was hissed through her teeth, "The ones that hurt Mitsuhiko!"

"Eh?" Genta whirled, and Kazuha barely restrained the boy before backing slowly away. The two men didn't seem to notice them, not yet. They were asking something at the nurse's station though, and Kazuha ducked into a hospital room. She made a shushing motion to the two children before looking through the crack in the door.

She couldn't explain why she had done that. Why she had decided to hide just because Ayumi was scared. It was something about the way Heiji said goodbye to her earlier. As if it could be the last time she ever saw him. Kazuha would never, EVER let that be the case.

The nurse at the station pointed to where she and the children had been only heartbeats before, and then she looked very confused. Kazuha looked over at Ayumi and Genta. Ayumi was crying, she had her face buried in her hands. Genta looked ready to fight, his teeth were gritted and he had his meaty fists in the air.

The men asked something else, and the nurse shook her head. One of them flashed something at her...a badge of some sort? The nurse hesitated, before pointing down the hall. This time she caught what she was saying, "Operation room six sir..."

"They're going to try and find Mitsuhiko!" Ayumi all but screamed in Kazuha's ear. Kazuha felt a thrill of panic rush through her. What was she supposed to do? Call the police? But they would never get here in time...

_Let's be realistic..._Kazuha said to herself. _If these people really DID try and kill Mitsuhiko they can't hope to murder him in a hospital without drawing attention. No, they could easily kill Mitsuhiko. He's in intensive surgery, they could do something to sabotage it and nobody would question why a child in such a bad state died so suddenly. They CAN'T, however, kill a girl who walks up to them in broad daylight._

"Stay here. Don't move. Don't say anything. Look after Toshi-kun for me you two." Kazuha ordered, before she stepped into the hallway with as much confidence as you please. As if she was just facing the dishes or something. Inside her heart was hammering with fear.

"Ah...hello?" The younger of the two said, halting with a look of confusion on his features as Kazuha approached him with a bright and energetic smile.

"Mou, what's this 'Ah hello?' you say in a way that makes it seem like I'm a complete stranger!" Kazuha said, placing her hands on her hips and pouting. Confusion flitted across the man's face, and his friend looked incredibly pissed off in a single instant. Kazuha took in their appearance so quickly that she thought Heiji would have been proud of her.

They were carrying guns. She could tell. She KNEW.

"I know you?" He asked, looking completely lost now. He shot a bewildered look to his partner.

"Mooooooou..." Kazuha groaned. She had no idea that she could act this well, but she was actually doing a rather good job if you asked her. "How can you be so mean?"

"I'm...sorry?" The guy blinked.

"Don't you remember? That wedding?" Kazuha pursed her lips at him as though incredibly irritated. She kept her gaze focused on him as he thought back, as though trying desperately to remember. The man hissed in irritation, and shoved his confused friend back.

"We're busy." He said, glowering at her.

"But I was wondering if you would help me find my cat." Kazuha said, "You said that one time that you owed me, remember? I didn't think you had really forgotten...I really need help getting that cat. It belongs to my mother, who is in this hospital. That's why you're here right? To see my mother?"

"Your mother's sick?" The man said, surprising Kazuha by a look of concern. "I'm sorry, I really don't remember you all that well but we must have been close for me to promise you something like that. It wouldn't hurt to go looking for a cat..."

"You don't remember her because she doesn't KNOW you." The other man hissed, loud enough to alert the nurse at the station. "If you met him once before what's his name?"

"Well..." Kazuha trailed off.

"But you said you did know her." The nurse said. Kazuha kept her features perfectly oblivious, smiling at the woman but inside she was suddenly boiling with panic. "She was with those children that you were looking for...I was assuming that you wanted her since she's close to your age and rather pretty..."

"Ooooh..." The other partner turned a cat-like grin Kazuha's way. She tried to swallow, but found it hard. "Then I don't think there should be any trouble...looking for your cat at all."

What had she just gotten herself into?

* * *

Heiji rolled, avoiding another strike from the man who was after him. He was disturbed that the guy knew swordsmanship like him. It was as if he had been picked specifically because of that. Just how much did Those People know about him?

He had no weapon, and as suck he was fairing rather badly. The man's weapon of choice was a katana, and Heiji knew enough about the blade to know just how lethal it was. A katana was designed to slice through flesh and bone as if it was butter.

Blood spattered on the ground as Heiji rolled out of the way. Pain burned on the side of his face as the blade slashed a deep gash. Heiji flattened himself against the wall, eyeing his opponent warily. He would have tried to lead the man out of the alley, he couldn't attack Heiji in front of too many pedestrians.

The man had a bomb strapped to his chest though. That was the problem. The man had said that Heiji's luck depended on how suicidal Heiji happened to be, but Heiji rather thought it was probably the other way around. No matter what he did, if that guy decided to blow himself sky high he was royally screwed.

"This IS fun!" The young man chuckled, brown eyes glittering with enjoyment as the blade sliced a path for Heiji's head. The Osakan ducked, rolled, and came up behind his opponent. Before he could ram him off his feet he had to jump away to avoid the deadly blade again. "I was afraid you were a coward running away!"

"Glad I could make your day." Heiji replied.

"Hattori Heiji, you are a worthy opponent indeed. The fact that you're still ALIVE, even without your own blade..." The young man wasn't much older than Heiji. Maybe a year or so. His hair was dark, and it hung in his brown eyes that twinkled so mirthfully at Heiji. So mockingly. "I am Koshiro Sachi."

"I'm assumin' your tellin' me that cause ya think I'm gonna die?" Heiji asked. Koshiro's smile faltered slightly, and Heiji pressed on. "Have ya ever killed someone before? Ever steal somebody's life? It's a horrible thing ta do."

"How would you know?" Koshiro asked, giving Heiji a flat stare. "You haven't murdered somebody have you?"

The fact that Koshiro used the word 'murder' told Heiji that his tactic could have been working. Murder was an ugly word. Murder was a word that implied something that was wrong. If he merely said killing that would be another matter. Heiji shook his head.

"I'm a detective, didn't ya know? I've seen so many people that have killed before...and the majority o' the time they regret their decision to take a life in the end." Heiji stepped forward, nerves on edge. Koshiro had the blade pointed at the ground, he looked confused.

"But..." Koshiro frowned, "I need the power."

"What cost would power come at though? I got family that loves me. I got people who would be sad if I was gone. I'm good at kendo, like ya said I'm strong. I got potential, if ya kill me ya kill all that too." Heiji kept his eyes focused on Koshiro's blade hand.

The fingers twitched, and began to loosen. Heiji felt something within him relax, and then Koshiro was flying at him. Heiji tried to move, but the blad was stabbed through his chest. Agony ripped through him, and Koshiro ripped the katana out. Horror reflected in Koshiro's eyes for a moment.

"I decided power was good at any cost." Koshiro whimpered. Heiji hardly heard him, he was too focused on the fact that he couldn't breathe. That all he could do was taste blood. The detective fell to his knees, and then collapsed on the ground. Blood poured from him, staining the dirty alley crimson.

_I'm gonna die._ Heiji thought, vividly imagining Kudou attempting to find his murderer. Perhaps he should leave a dying message to help him along...but would Kudou even survive? Koshiro screamed, and pulled the trigger for the bomb into his hand.

"No! NO!" Koshiro shrieked, thumb plunging towards the button. So much for a dying message, there wouldn't be anything left of Heiji if the guy blew them up. That was okay though. Kazuha was safe right? Heiji watched distantly as, for a reason that Heiji couldn't process even after hearing the gunshot, Koshiro dropped the bomb's trigger to the ground.

Koshiro sobbed, clutching his hand and muttering something over and over. Heiji couldn't hear him, but he noticed that somebody else was kneeling next to him. Something was stabbed into the other side of his chest, and suddenly he could breathe a little better than before. Heiji was gasping from air, but his head was spinning from the loss of his blood.

"I apologize..." Came the mumbled words of the person who had helped him. "I didn't expect things to get out of hand so quickly. I thought you were going to be able to convince the boy not to kill you. It turns out you were a good judge of his character. His mind has snapped from the guilt of what he has done."

"That so?" Heiji didn't have any idea how he managed the strength to cough out the words. It was agony for him to do so, yet he felt a smirk go across his features. "Good ta know...that even if I die my brain's still just as sharp as ever."

"I'll attempt to get you help." The man replied, holding Heji's eyes with his olive colored ones. "It may be difficult to carry you, but I think I can manage. You are Hattori Heiji, ne?"

Heiji didn't have the strength to reply. The world was sliding in and out of focus. His hands felt very cold, due to the loss of blood probably. Copper was in his mouth, he hated that taste. It made him sick to his stomach. It was the only thing about blood that made him feel sick in fact.

Heiji glanced up at him, sharp eyes conveying one last question. He wanted to know the name of the man who hadn't let this boy commit suicide. The man with the olive colored eyes. The man seemed to understand Heiji's message, and a small smirk quirked at the corner of his mouth.

"I am Akai Shuuichi."

_**

* * *

**_

_**Lawl, the last person you'd ever think rescue everybody always rescues them.**_

_**YES! It's Shuuichi! Cause there is no way in HELL that that stubborn agent died so easily. Don't fight me on this, he's coming back because he's just too damned cool NOT to. X3**_

_**This chapter and the one after it were totally supposed to just be one...**_

_**But I thought I was taking too long to update. So I stopped writing it half-way through and decided to leave off with Heiji.**_

_**As for poor Sonoko...**_

_**Her death was intentionally written in a way that was like BAM! because it helps show why Ran is so very...shocked by it all. If it had been dramatic, with final words and tears, Ran would have just wanted to kick everybody's asses...**_

_**And yes, I intended to kill her from the beginning. (Is Heiji dead? Only I know for sure X3)**_

_**I will say this, there is going to be another death in the next chapter. Only one though. -cackles evilly-**_

_**Reviews are always loved...**_


	33. The Color Red

_Disclaimer:_

_Nothing is mine_

_**Well I have my iPod touch working finally ^^**_

_**I'm so happy. I lurve it to death. Music helps my muse, so I hope that means we have an awesome chapter coming at you...**_

_**Oh, and also I've officially started two other DC fanfics. (Though I'll probably wait until I actually upload them) The first was mentioned, the Mitsuhiko fanfic. The second one is a fanfiction I'm going to write from Ran's POV. It's a possible starter to a series starring the three childhood girls of DC. (that is, Ran, Aoko, and Kazuha) It depends on how the first turns out, and whether or not I'll have enough muse for the others :3**_

_**Oh, and the song that will be mentioned is **__**Your Guardian Angel**__** by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus...(Don't own it)**_

**_And..I couldn't remember if Shiratori's name was really...Shiratori X3_**

**_So if you're at a loss wondering who the heck he's supposed to be, he's the curly haired guy that popped up in a movie way back when, and he's Takagi's main rival for Satou's affections._**

_**Also...you guys PLEASE don't hate me at the end of this chapter...**_

_**Because there are still two more updates, and I'm a little scared that you might get so angry at who I decided to kill off that you'll throw something at me...or stop reading. Both of which would make me very sad...**_

_**So...that being said...on with answering your lovely reviews! :3**_

_**Em Phantom- -covers ears- Spoilers for Streaky, lalalalala...lawl, I'm just kidding. That's good to know, see, I was right. X3 Truth is I only just watched the episode Shuu 'died' and am nowhere near that in the manga yet. (When I run outta DC episodes the Manga is going to save my life...cause I'm addicted to DC and I'll die without it...X3) You think you're stunned about Sonoko? Wait till you've finished this chapter...just don't hate me...because you're an awesome reviewer...-coughs-**_

_**Elena Forest- -slinks in- It is a big number, isn't it? Biggest I've ever had for a fanfic before...Yes! Character interactions were a success, and apparently I keep them in character too! I love being told that, because it's my pet peeve reading fanfiction of other's when the characters do things they would NEVER do. Shiho is tough, but there are moments where you realize she is VERY hurt inside. Like when she first came and the first murder she ever saw Shinichi solve...how sad. And the thing about Heiji was supposed to be "As SUCH" X3 Oops, typo. Lawl, I'll keep an eye out for your friend. In the mean time read this chapter and try not to kill me when you've finished it. -shot-**_

_**

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_Chapter Thirty-three- The Color Red_

Kazuha followed the two men with her heart hammering a mile a minute. She could hardly breathe for her panic, and she was on edge. Ready to bolt at any instant. Outwardly she forced herself to look as bouncy as she had a moment before. They stopped in the center of the parking lot, and Kazuha couldn't help but think of how alone they were...and exposed.

"Where are the kids you were with earlier?" The young man she had confused asked, looking at her innocently. Kazuha forced herself to look down, and heaved a tired sigh.

"Their parents took them home." She lied, "Their friend just died...so they're very sad. They needed time to relax, and the little girl..., lost her memory because the event was so traumatic. Ah-le? Why do you want to know about the kids I babysit? Do you have an idea about who attacked that little boy?"

_Take the bait..._She prayed. If they thought Mitsuhiko was dead they wouldn't try and mess up his operation. If they thought Ayumi's memory was lost they'd leave her alone...right? The two men regarded her for a moment, it was the younger one who replied first. Kazuha was surprised by the relief flickering in his eyes.

"Ah, that's good." He said, and looked at the man. "It seems that our business doesn't need to take place after all...ne?"

Kazuha ignored the crypted words and acted as though she hadn't heard them. Even if she was curious, digging would only get her in trouble. The man with the younger guy scowled, and looked warily at his partner as if he was to decide something. "True, the job wasn't as important as others..." He darted an uncomfortable look Kazuha's way, then heaved something like a sigh. "Fine, we'll go. But if we're in trouble over this I hope it's you they kill and not me."

Why was it that those words seemed so...serious? Kazuha watched in stunned silence as the two men left. Her head was spinning. Had she really done that...and so easily? Could they have been tricked like that? She wandered back to the nurse's station, and then walked into the room with the kids.

"I made them go away." Kazuha muttered, sounding as stunned as she felt. Ayumi passed Satoshi to her, and Kazuha stood with the white chipmunk cupped in her hands for a moment. "But we'll have to call the police...and give them another report Ayumi-chan."

She had an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt antsy, as if she'd said something stupid back there and couldn't exactly place it. Was it the relief in the one guy's eyes? He hadn't seemed like the kind of person to shoot a child...but his friend certainly had.

No, that wasn't it. She'd said something, and it wasn't very smart. What was it?

Cold dread flooded through her. She'd said that the kids went HOME, where their family and parents were undoubtedly waiting...what if...what if these people somehow knew where the kids lived? They did find out the hospital Mitsuhiko went to...Kazuha stood up so swiftly that Satoshi had to dig his tiny claws into her palm to keep from tumbling onto the floor.

"Kazuha-oneesan?" Ayumi said, sounding very afraid. Kazuha didn't answer the girl, only set her chipmunk on her shoulder and flicked open her cellphone. She dialed for the police, her heart pounding and unsettling regret flaring up like sickness in the pit of her stomach.

"Moshi, moshi-" The voice on the other line was run over as Kazuha nearly babbled his ear off in her explanation.

* * *

Satou gripped the steering wheel and kept her eyes focused on the window outside. The sound of young Hattori's voice still rang in her ears, even though she and the police had been dispatched several hours before. Night blanketed the sky, but there were no stars out tonight. They were covered in dark clouds, as if the black was intent on blotting out any silver speck it possibly could.

Was that an omen? Hattori's rushed explanation had seemed so farfetched, so unrealistic. An underground group of criminals that the police had managed to overlook? No, Hattori had said so himself...that she was to pick only police members that she felt she could trust. That meant that it could be possible the police hadn't had this Organization's activities brought to their attention because some of their members were involved in it.

Satou narrowed her eyes, remembering the strange sensation she'd had only a few months prior that there could be somebody who the police didn't know about. In any case, she had followed Hattori's orders. The only police that even knew about it were hand selected by Hattori or herself.

Her, Takagi, Chiba, Yumi, Megure, and Shiratori. That was literally the only people Satou knew, without a single doubt, she could trust no matter what. It was a pathetically small force for what Hattori's urgency entailed they would be facing. Yet they couldn't just tell the other police, the risk that somebody could sabotage them...

Her partner was next to her as usual. His usually rather bright face was in an uncharateristic frown as he stared out at the darkness. Their cars were all parked, and they weren't moving. The waiting was almost unbearable, but Hattori had said that somebody would come to meet them before they could do anything.

A car pulled up beside them and they tensed at the same time. Satou narrowed her eyes, was it the people they were supposed to be meeting? The window was rolled down and Satou felt an eyebrow arch up in surprise while Takagi openly gaped. "Jodie-sensei!" Takagi yelled, pointing.

"Haaai~!" Jodie said with a friendly smile. The young woman gave Takagi a bright smile before turning her blue eyes on the scenary around them. "How many police came?"

"Six, and one teenager." Satou said, remembering that young Fang had hitched a ride with Yumi at the last second. Jodie frowned slightly and Satou noticed that there were several black vans next to her. There were ten vans in total...as for Jodie's vehicle, she could spot a rather frightening looking man sitting next to her. In the back there appeared to be an elderly man.

"A-ah, Camel-san you're here too?" Takagi said, sounding slightly startled. Satou noticed him take in the vans with his gaze before he said, very softly, "Is the FBI involved in this too? But...how did you get so many people together right away?"

Satou smiled because at the end of his sentence the questioning note was hardened slightly. Takagi could be clumsy, and he could get overwhelmed sometimes but he was a very very smart man. Things like this continually reminded Satou of that, and she couldn't help but smile.

"We apologize and realize that this jurisdiction is yours." The man in the back spoke very calmly, and kept his eyes locked on Takagi's. "However, there are times in life when rules have to be broken for the greater good. We've been tracking this group for a very long time. They are nearly impossible to gain leads on, and telling the Japanese Police what the FBI was doing would only endanger our chances of getting the little leads we COULD acheive."

"Because there is a high probability that these people have some of their members hiding in our ranks." Satou said calmly. She noticed that Shiratori and Megure had gotten out of the patrol car they were in. Yumi and Chiba followed after that, with Fang trailing after the group and looking out over the horizon with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"Yes." The man in the back said.

"James-san..." Camel said, "We should brief the police on as much as we can before those people come to pick us up before the fight. I highly doubt that this is who we were supposed to wait for, since they don't seem to know the situation quite yet."

The man in the back nodded...

_**

* * *

**_

Shinichi's shoulders were tensed, he was standing in front of Ran as if his small body could possibly do any good at shielding her against a bullet. Shinichi hissed as Vermouth's eyes lit up with humor when he spoke her name. As if she found his instant mistrust of her something amusing.

"Why did you do that?" Shinichi hissed at her.

"Because he was going to kill you?" Vermouth offered him, a cat-like smirk quirking the edges of her lips. She leaned back against the wall, but the gun stayed trained carefully on him. "You once told me, Silver Bullet, that, while you need plenty of reasons to kill somebody, you don't need any to save a life."

Shinichi was only briefly confused, he kept his eyes narrowed at the master of disguise. It wasn't an answer that was sufficient to him, but he HAD said those words once before. Shinichi watched warily as she put the gun back in the holster at her side and gave the group an amused look.

"Thank you...?" Kid said in the corner, looking ready to spring away at the smallest of movements. Vermouth shook her head in irritation and pointed the gun down the hall to their left.

"You'll want to make two rights, a left, another three rights, and five lefts." Vermouth stated calmly, "That will take you to the door of That Person, Silver Bullet-kun. However, I think you may want to leave Angel there behind...if you like you can leave her with me...I'd take good care of her."

This last bit was spoken with a smirk, and Shinichi almost openly snarled at her like some kind of wild animal. That's how angry the suggestion made him. Instead, he just tightened his grip on the hand he was holding, only just realizing that Ran had a hold of it at that moment.

"Why are you helping us?" Shinichi asked, even though he knew he wouldn't get an answer he couldn't help it. Vermouth only looked at him levelly before turning to walk down the corridor the way she had come. She waved over her back.

"Good luck~... Silver Bullet-kun..." Vermouth all but sang the words, and then she disappeared into the shadows of the hall. Shinichi stayed staring after her for a few moments, waiting to see if she somehow left a trap that would bite them all in the hind-ends. Finally he turned to face Ran.

"Ran...we have to go." He whispered, noticing with a twinge of intense worry that her gaze was faraway and unfocused. When he spoke she jerked as if she'd been slapped, and her fingers gripped his so tightly that he winced. "Ran..."

"We have to help Sonoko..." She croaked, eyes darting to the corpse of her friend. Shinichi found himself flinching at the raw desperation flashing in his dear Ran's eyes. "She's so hurt Shinichi...she's so hurt and it's all my fault. If I had left when you told me then she would be fine now, she wouldn't have followed us. But she'll be alright, we just have to help her."

"Oh Ran-chan..." Aoko moaned in the corner. Shinichi didn't look at her, he was only watching Ran with a mixture of worry, agony, guilt, and all around despair churning in his gut like a potent mixture. She was thinking this was her fault, but if anybody wanted to point fingers it should have been at him. After all, she wasn't the idiot who got involved with one of the most evil organizations in the world. He dragged her into it, and Sonoko along with her.

"She's dead Ran." Shinichi said, hating how harsh those words sounded, even in his gentle tone. Ran's eyes remained focused on Sonoko. He noticed that the desperation flared with them, even brighter than before. Shinichi's throat closed. "Ran."

"Shinichi she's not dead." She said firmly. "She's not. She's not. She's not."

She sounded like a five year old trying to get her way. Shinichi grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look him in the eye. He'd never, EVER, seen her look so broken before. It created an agony in his heart unlike any he had ever felt before. It was a sadness that literally HURT.

"Ran...please." Shinichi said softly, "Don't do this. I know it hurts...and...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Ran, but she's dead and we can't do anything to change that."

"Noooo..." She pleaded, as if she couldn't bear to hear those words. "She can't be dead...she's my friend."

Shinichi dropped her gaze, unable to bear looking into it any longer. Because he was weak, if he felt that bad just by seeing how torn up she was over this...how did she possibly feel? Part of Ran's heart had been torn away with Sonoko. They were best friends...practically sisters. Shinichi grit his teeth against a wave of empathy for his friend.

If that had been Hattori...or Iggy...Shinichi felt a flash of guilt just as strong. Sonoko...he'd always treated her so rudely. As Conan and Shinichi, and it was true that she was annoying but she was a very very loyal friend to Ran.

Loyalty didn't carry you very far when you were shot in the chest though. Shinichi listened to Ran's sobs, and watched as Kid wrapped his arms around Aoko and held her for a moment. The girl was crying, and Shinichi didn't know if it was because of the heart-wrenching keening sound Ran kept making, or Sonoko's death.

He wanted, so badly, to be able to hold Ran right now. To not be a small child...to be of some use and cradle her against him so that she could know there was stability in her world. But he couldn't.

_She must think I'm heartless._ Shinichi thought. Even with Sonoko dead, even with Ran so heartbroken, he couldn't summon a single tear. Shinichi almost hated himself for that, but kept his gaze rooted on the ground before he walked forward and wrapped his pathetically small arms around her neck.

"I'm sorry Ran." He croaked. "I'm so sorry."

_**

* * *

**_

Shiho woke up to Gin hovering over her. A barely concealed shriek exploded from her mouth. Clearly this hadn't been some awful nightmare. It was real, painfully so. Shiho's eyes darted around, desperately seeking the form of Iggy. Had they killed him while he was asleep?

The mere thought had her ready to fall apart, but she spotted him. He was breathing rapidly in the corner, and looked to be unconscious despite this fact. Shiho darted away from Gin and tried to reach him. However, Gin's arm closed around her wrist and she was yanked back.

"Couldn't continue much more without you to watch, Sherry." Gin purred gently. Shiho flinched away from the man, from his eyes that were so very cold and focused on her. Instead she found herself focusing on Iggy, trying to take stock of the damage that had been done.

Her heart twisted, her stomach knotted. Iggy was all but covered in his own blood. His hand seemed to be bleeding badly, he was covered in every degree of cuts. Blood had was dripping from one of his knees. His leg seemed to be bent in a very unnatural position, and Shiho tried to wrench herself away from Gin.

"Why does Gin get to do this!" Came Scotch's shriek, causing Gin to look over at him with something like vague irritation written on his features. "He FAILED! He FAAAILED and he's getting a reward! What the HELL!"

"Shut up." Gin said in a bored tone, before shooting the man between the eyes. Shiho watched as Scotch fell to the floor. Jeb made an irritated noise behind her, probably annoyed that he had lost another scientist. Shiho's eyes darted over to Iggy, and pain tore at her again.

"Just know, that this is all of your fault Sherry." Jeb spoke coldly behind her. She stiffened, her guilt rising within her at those words. Oh, they were true. She knew them more than anything in the world. Somehow, having them spoken aloud by somebody else, made them worse.

Gin pointed his pistol over at Iggy and fired.

* * *

Kaito was carrying Ran for Tantei-kun. He glanced over at the shrunken detective, who seemed more exhausted than he had ever seen him. They were completely silent now. No more talking for any of them. They traced their way tiredly down the corridors. Aoko helped knock out a few guards using her mop. (It was rather effective actually, since the initial reaction most of the men they encountered had when they first saw her with that mop in her hands was to laugh. She'd smack them upside the head when they were caught off guard...)

A bullet sounded off, surprisingly loud in the corridor they were standing in. A shriek followed after it almost instantly, and several more bullets went off. Tantei-kun ran down the hall, and Kaito practically dumped Ran on top of Aoko to follow him. He popped up just behind the detective as he wrenched the door open.

A bullet immediately imbedded itself into Kaito's shoulder, before the thief even had a chance to process the scene in the room. A long haired man had Tantei-kun's friend firmly by the arm. The pistol had been aimed at the other shrunken kid in the corner, his eyes were very wide and he looked as if he had just been startled out of a sleep, there were two bullet holes near where his head had been. He was sitting very still. Now the gun was pointed level with Kaito, who held an arm out to tell Ran and Aoko not to try and follow.

_**

* * *

**_

Fang stiffened as soon as he spotted the blots. Alarm raced through him, and he suddenly shouted, "Everybody get down right now!" The police looked baffled for an instant, untily Fang jerked to the left. He was lucky he did that, but a bullet still managed to bury itself into his bicep.

"Snipers!" Jodie yelled, Fang's wings snapped open and he raced over to where the sniper would be. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he landed behind her. She spun, and though the gun didn't fire a bullet suddenly grazed Fang's cheek. The woman, a scary goth-looking girl, laughed.

"Kill him Korn!" She yelled. Fang remembered where the bullet had come and grabbed the girl by the barrel of her gun. She yelped as he yanked her, spun around, and held her in front of him with the gun acrossed her throat. Still, he knew she wasn't sufficient protection. He was too tall.

He became very still, and let himself focus on breathing as slowly as possible. After a moment he smirked slowly when the girl screamed in utter irritation.

"What the HELL are you waiting for!" She shrieked, "KORN! He's right here! Shoot him between the damn eyes, are you BLIND!"

_That's technically true._ Fang thought with a twinge of amusement. One of his special abilities let him blend into his backgrounds if he focused enough. This Korn person couldn't shoot somebody he couldn't see. Fang found himself spotting the sniper with his sharp eyes, and narrowed them slightly.

The gun was no longer pointed his direction but down at the the police below. He hissed. Fang dropped the gun, then grabbed the girl by her arm and twisted it behind her. After doing this he kicked her squarely in the back so that it would break her arm. She couldn't snipe anybody if she couldn't hold it.

After that he took to the air and dive-bombed the other sniper, but he hit Fang upside the head with the rifle as he was coming down. Fang spun out, and crashed into the ground. Getting clocked right in the side of the head with a hard gun was certainly enough to catch even a bird-kid off guard.

The rifle was put against his head and he heard the person called Korn calmly say, "I prefer shooting long-distance but this will do." The tone was so bored that Fang almost expected a yawn at the end of it. The teen closed his eyes, regretting the fact that he didn't get to see Max one more time before he was killed out here.

Suddenly the gun was yanked away from his head. It clattered to the ground and Fang looked at the sniper quickly enough to see that Korn was kicked squarely in his chest and Fang felt somebody yank him to his feet by his collar. He found himself staring into Max's very angry eyes as she snarled, "You're not dying here quite yet buster."

That was all she said before grabbing the gun and diving off of the cliff they were on. Fang stared after her, trying to sort his mind into order so that he could realize exactly what had happened before following the young woman to where the police were waiting to start this fight below.

_**

* * *

**_

In case you ever think your alarm clock is working, don't ask Gin to wake you up. He'll shoot at your head. Which is the most terrifying thing that can snap you out of unconsciousness. I jerked into wakefulness so quickly that I almost screamed because of the pain in my leg.

"And the cast is finally all here." Jeb said, sounding amused. It took me a few moments to register that, after I woke up, another gunshot had gone through the air. Somebody else was here...and I knew somehow that it was Shinichi. I wondered why the door hadn't been locked...but then again with somebody like Gin in the room I guess Jeb really didn't need to lock his doors.

"Bout time..." I mumbled, my words slurred and I realized that I was still veering towards unconsciousness. I struggled to focus when I heard Jeb talking in a very cold tone of voice.

"This makes two people you've missed Gin." Jeb said. Gin didn't say anything, but even from a cold guy like him I could sense his slight confusion at those words. "You were supposed to have killed both Kudou Shinichi and Iggy. However they are both very alive, and causing me a great deal of trouble."

"I don't remember the faces or the names of the people I kill." Gin said simply, and I could imagine that he was shrugging. "I don't mind doing it twice though."

"It seems that poor Mouri-chan is a bit shaken up. Did you run into trouble on the way here?" Gin asked. Shinichi growled in irritation, and I heard Ran let out something like a sob. "Ah...gomen, my dear. It's too bad that you were yanked into all of this. You know, Kudou-kun, if you had picked a different family to live with this poor girl probably wouldn't be killed today."

I found my fingers twitching, grabbing for something near me. I picked it up, and groggily fumbled at the watch Shinichi had handed me. My fingers skimmed over it's surface, trying to find the place the hole the needle came out of would be. I found it, and grit my teeth as I scooted myself along the wall.

Everyone's attention was focused on the newcomers. Not the beaten blind brat sitting in the corner. This was a chance I couldn't miss. If I could just...get close enough. It was a hard task, the pain was enough to have me on the verge of screaming, and I don't know HOW but I somehow did it.

Somehow I got to the point that I must have been only a few feet from Jeb. I don't think he noticed me anyways, he was talking to Shinichi as I fitted the thing I found over the hole on the wristwatch. I was hoping...somewhere in my pain filled mind, that this would perhaps give that tranquilizer more oomph.

_Come on Chatty Kathy..._I thought, _Keep monologuing so I know exactly where I should aim._

"You know...for a detective you did an awful job at hiding from us. I suppose that figuring out secrets doesn't neccessarily mean you know the best ways to keep them." Jeb sighed, "It was painfully easy to put two and two together. Didn't it even come to mind that you should wait a bit before showing up as Edogawa Conan? You popped up the same day Kudou Shinichi was killed, or disappeared. At the same time, on that particular day, Sleeping Kogoro solved his first case in months. It was easy to pinpoint the variable of his cases after that. He did better when you were there then when you were go-"

This finally part broke off because I'd squeezed the two buttons on the wristwatch that triggered the tranquilizer. It pierced the thing I was holding, and as I had hoped, they both soared through the air straight into his mouth. That's what I was AIMING for anyways, by using sound...and judging by the choking noise I heard it was a bulls-eye.

"That," I croaked, "Is karma you asshole. I hope you like Apotoxin as much as I did."

Jeb thudded to the ground, probably because he was writhing in pain. I don't think the tranquilizer was working, mostly because he happened to be hurting a bit now. I realized, belatedly, that this would probably kill him. Which made me a murderer...that thought was driven from my mind when a gun fired behind me.

I pitched forward, clutching at my shoulder.

* * *

Kazuha was getting ready to go with the police when she heard the ambulance. She didn't know what made her stop, didn't know what made her look back and stare into the hallway where the stretcher would be wheeled by. However, a few moments later, it did get wheeled by.

Her heart froze in terror.

She must have seen wrong. That hadn't been Heiji, with blood all over himself. That hadn't been Heiji, looking terribly pale despite the fact that he had dark skin. She dropped the door she had been holding open and ran after them. A panicked shriek tore through her throat, "Heiji!"

"I assume he's your friend." A calm voice made her stop her mad dash, and she found herself looking over at a man. It took her a moment to realize that he had some scars, but his intense olive colored eyes took her away from that. "He ran into some severe trouble."

"That's...that's Heiji." Kazuha said, knowing that she must have sounded like an idiot at that moment. The man nodded grimly before turning to leave. Kazuha held out a hand, "W-wait a moment...who...who are you? What happened to Heiji? Where are you going?"

"I am Akai Shuuichi. I'm part of the FBI...and your friend was helping us by trying to take down one of the members of the group we've been tracking for quite awhile. He was badly injured. As for where I am going, I have some business to take care of with somebody." The man's eyes looked cold for a moment, before he walked away.

Kazuha was left completely speechless, a knew weight of worry to drag her heart down into a sea of complete and total uhappiness. She shifted her eyes to the corridor, and held her hand to her chest. Tears filled her eyes, and she almost sobbed out loud. _Heiji...please be okay._

_**

* * *

**_

Satou fired her gun twice, and took out the kneecaps of the person who had been running at Takagi with a hatchet of all things. Her partner shot her an appalled look before saying, "It's like they're just picking up anything they can get to now."

They'd been up against a variety of different weapons. Some people were already dead. Satou was grimly starting to wonder how they were still alive now. So far the FBI had lost two members, and the Japanese Police Force had a few close calls. She had her own wounds, including a deep gash from a knife in her side.

It wasn't life threatening though, so she was going to stay out here as long as possible. Until they could break through the people who kept filing out of that building and get to Conan and the others.

At first she had bene apalled that the FBI let a small child get so involved in these matters...and then she remembered Conan and how he acted. There were things about that boy that didn't quite add up. Satou knew that there was something special about Conan...and that something would help them all one day.

She wondered if that day was now. The woman ducked as a man came at her, with a flamethrower of all things. She grimaced as her fired bullet struck the man in the chest. Chances that he would survive were so small...but lethal force had to be used in a situation like this.

It wasn't an arrest, it was a battle ground.

"Satou-san..." Takagi panted, his shoulders leaning against hers. They were back to back now, surrounded by rows of people with guns. The chances of survival looked grim at that instant, didn't they? Satou cocked the pistol in her hand, before focusing on the people in front of her.

"Takagi-kun?" She asked, her tone, as always, was serious because she was at work. Because of the situation they were in. Takagi seemed to pause for a heartbeat, before sighing heavily. She his lungs expanded with air against her back, and was reminded of just how alive her partner was at that moment, and just how easily that could be changed in this situation.

"I...love you." Satou glanced at him, alarm flaring through her. His face wasn't tinged with pink, in fact...he looked strangely confident. It was surprising, that her fumbling partner would look like that at this moment in time. That he would say such a thing...now...or ever for that matter. Satou didn't think she was all that beautiful or lovable for somebody.

"Takagi..." She said, before cocking her pistols, "I love you too."

"Good to hear!" A cheerful voice from below barked. Satou and Takagi both looked down to see a rather small dog sitting at their feet. Takagi literally blanched, and Satou found herself blinking in surprise. That was the dog of the kids that told them they were supposed to try and get in and help Kudou and Conan out. "Now if I were you two I'd close your eyes."

Both of them instantly complied, though Satou was unsure why. Several loud noises went off, and Satou was nudged by the little dog at their feet. He barked an order at them to run in that direction as they did he barked, "Open your eyes if you want to now, the light faded away now."

"Flash bombs..." Takagi said, understanding in his tone.

"We're supposed to try and save as many people as possible. That was the order." The dog barked. Takagi chuckled nervously as the dog took off and literally flew away. The two officers stayed silent for a moment, looking over as two of the flying children from above dropped sleeping bombs on the people below.

"You saw all that too right?" Takagi asked, "Because I'd be really upset if I woke up and this was all a dream...AH! Not because I don't think it's dangerous, it's just that I went and told you and then it would have been pointless because there are flying talking dogs..."

"Takagi, we need to get going." She said sharply, hating to stop his incoherent rambling. He really was rather cute when he was flustered, but they both had a job they needed to do. "We need to try and handcuff all the people that have been knocked out. We're taking as many of these people into custody as possible."

* * *

Shinichi jerked from his momentary stupor. Iggy had just been shot...after shooting some poison into The Person's mouth. The shrunken detective was grimly warring with his morality over that issue, until Gin had fired at his friend. It was times like this that lethal force was needed, and Iggy may have just saved hundreds of lives by taking out their boss.

That is, if that boss didn't fall into the percentage he, Shiho, and Iggy had.

That hardly mattered now. Shinichi's fingers went to his belt, and he produced his only soccerball and kicked it. Of course it wouldn't do as much damage as usual, since he was without his super-kick shoes, but it certainly caught Gin's attention.

Kid tried to catch up to him, but the thief was suddenly attacked from behind by Vodka. The man must have followed them down the corridor's. Shinichi watched as Kid wrestled with the man, and Aoko started beating the guy on the back with her mop. Vodka grabbed it, and slammed the end of it into Kid's throat after jerking it from her grasp. The thief staggered back, coughing and gagging.

Gin's own gun was aimed at Shinichi again, and he had to move. The shrunken detective yelped when Gin strode towards him and yanked him into the air. Shinichi was slammed against the wall, and the detective couldn't help but be eerily reminded of one of his ever-present nightmares concerning the man that had him now.

"It's time we ended you." Gin said softly, Gin grated the pistol against Shinichi's clenched teeth. Shinichi felt his nerves tighten, and the gun was cocked. Fear coarsed through him as the man laughed very loudly in his enjoyment. "This time you will not return and cause any trouble."

Shinichi shut his eyes, and conjured up a picture of Ran with his mind. He wouldn't let the last thing he ever thought about be the man who had him now. Wouldn't let that be his very last thought in the world. _I love you, Ran._ He thought, his heart throbbing painfully.

The gun scraped against Shinichi's mouth, and he was abruptly dropped to the ground. Shinichi's ankle buckled beneath him, and he found his hand clamping against his mouth as he lifted his blue eyes. Gin was stepping back, eyes warily focused on Ran as she stood protectively in front of Shinichi.

Shinichi knew that stance, knew the way her breathing seemed contained in some strange way, knew that look flashing in her violet eyes. Ran was pissed as all hell, and the person's ass she was ready to kick happened to be the man Shinichi was most terrified of in the entire universe.

"Ran!" He yelled at her, trying desperately to get her to stop. She launched herself at Gin, foot darting up to slam into his face. Gin grabbed her ankle and twisted her around. Ran caught herself on her hands, and slammed her free foot into his head instead. Gin staggered back, but his features remained totally cool.

She was compromised though, she could only attack from where he wasn't pointing the gun, and Gin kept aiming so quickly that it was a wonder why he hadn't killed her yet. Shinichi hissed as Gin's fist slammed into her stomach. Ran staggered back, clutching her stomach and breathing heavily but she managed to try and jump at him again.

_Hold on..._Shinichi thought, eyes zeroing in on the gun in Gin's hand. _Scotch is dead...Iggy's knee was shot out...then he was shot at around his head two times then Gin shot Kid, and shot Iggy just a moment ago..._ "Ran! He's out of bullets!"

Ran reacted instantly, her hand shot out and she grabbed the gun so that her hand was covering the hole. Her other fist slammed into Gin's chin, and the man pulled the trigger as he fell back. As Shinichi thought, the gun only sounded off a small click before it clattered to the ground. Gin rubbed blood off of his chin and glared up at Ran.

Shinichi could have cheered. There was no person in the world as awesome as that girl there, she had just taken out one of the most terrifying people in the universe. Shinichi bounced over to her, trying not to let his guard down around the man that stood before them.

He barely yanked Ran back as Gin shot up, slashing the air with a knife. It dug painfully into Shinichi's side, but he would be fine he was pretty sure. Gin darted out of the door, and the shrunken detective hissed, "We have to go and get him!"

Vodka followed his partner, and Shinichi glanced over at Ran. He and Ran got up in one motion, both of them began pelting for the door. Just as that happened the moonlight filled the room. Everyone froze, the room was bathed suddenly in very bright red light. Jeb stood up, looking to be about ten years younger than a moment before, amusement clear in his eyes.

"And you were all pretty sure you'd won too." Jeb said.

_**

* * *

**_

"Hell no..." I hissed, closing my eyes against the sheer RED. Oh, I couldn't see it, but my color sensory was on overload. I was getting a headache from it all. Everything was bathed in it, and it didn't help that I was leaking my own red stuff too. Let's just add to it, a pot of red gumbo.

I was a little whoozy still from the agony. I heard Jeb chuckle in amusement.

"Ah, it's nice to have youth restored to me. I look just like I did ten years ago...of course I would be dead if it wasn't for this, ne?" Jeb spoke almost lovingly, "I know, I know...the power comes from blood. If I cause you all to bleed I can fill the stone with blood. Then I won't need to wait for a comet to drink my elixer."

I heard Ran yell, and Shinichi cry out after a thud. Jeb laughed cruelly, and Shinichi's feet ran off to the far side of the room. Jeb's voice sounded warped...different than usual. It wasn't just younger, or even cold. It was...off.

"He just kicked her into the wall..." Shiho said next to me. I gripped my shoulder.

Jeb was so close to Shiho that it surprised me. I heard her gasp as she was picked up and panic flared through me. I opened my mouth, and yelled, "Hey Jeb! You picking on her because you're afraid to face somebody who is scientifically proven to have the ability to kick your ass?"

I was surprised by how utterly QUICKLY Jeb was at my side. The stone was pressed against me, and I hissed with surprise because it BURNED. Badly, I tried to back away, but Jeb held me firmly in place. My head was spinning with dizziness suddenly and Jeb chuckled. "I was completely serious, bathing the stone in your blood gives it power..."

Just to be cruel he slammed his fist into my broken leg. I screamed, and the stone bit into my skin. It was sharp, like a knife. The pain it caused as it did this burned through me like nothing I felt ever before. This fire...it was a million times worse than the feeling of becoming a smaller version of myself. I would gladly go back to that now. The pain was so intense that I can't even possibly describe it to you.

Unfathomable agony.

With it came sight...and I didn't want it. I can't explain HOW I was able to see, I just was. In that instant, I could see everything terribly clearly. Jeb's face hovered inches above mine, Shiho's horrified gaze as she tried to run at us, Kid holding her back while clutching the side of his bleeding head. My own blood, seeping endlessly from underneath the glowing stone and spattering all over the floor.

Somehow, even with the pain, I was aware that my blood wasn't the only blood coming out. Jeb's hands were bleeding as well, and the stone was being buried into my chest. Breathing was becoming difficult, and I coughed up blood. Jeb only laughed, but something exploded and and he jerked back.

"What!" He shrieked, "Stop! STOP!"

Blood was still seeping from underneath fingers, but as soon as that stone was taken away the pain was removed. My breathing was hitched, and I realized that I must have been screaming without realizing it. Shiho rushed to my side, but my eyes were focused on Shinichi who was holding a pistol that I hadn't realized he had until this moment. It certainly wasn't Gin's, he must have had it with him or something...

"He's...a ridiculously good shot." I croaked, remembering how close that gem was to my chest. I still found my eyes drawn to Jeb, my vision was flickering...blood loss or was blessed blindness coming to me once more? I hated sight now, I didn't want it...not now.

Jeb was being torn apart. I'm being completely literal about that too. A small whirlwind had started around him, and the windows had shattered. Jeb screamed as the red light grew from the stone, and started to crawl up his elbows. Glass dug into him from all side, blood was flying through the air.

The color red, everywhere. I shut my eyes, wanting desperately not to see any of this. I'd never been so happy to be blind in my entire life, though I could still sense the sickening color of red in the air. Jeb's screaming grew in pitch, and suddenly there was a wet thudding noise and complete silence filled the room. I opened my eyes to see Jeb's...I won't describe it, it's too horrible. He was...destroyed, let's just say that. In his now ruined fingers the stone ceased it's glowing, and with that my sight was taken as well.

I leaned back against Shiho, my breathing hurt so badly. Shinichi came over to me, and I heard him order Kid not to touch that stone. I don't think he really had to say that, the guy would be insane to go anywhere near that thing if you ask me. Then again, he didn't feel it pressed against him.

"Shinichi...?" Ran asked, worry evident in her tone.

"This is bad..." Shinichi muttered, "Iggy, move your hands so I can see how deep he cut you."

"Nnnooo..." My reply came out garbled, and it sounded wait. I almost gagged, blood was in my throat, that's what that sound was about. Oh sick. I cleared my throat, ignoring the pain it caused. Small beans compared to what had happened earlier. "My hands are all...that's keepin' the blood in right now...don't think it's..."

I lost track of my train of thought. I don't know why, it just kind of drifted dreamily off into another corner. I was so tired...so very tired, and I had a feeling that if I was just to fall asleep I wouldn't have to worry about hurting all that much anymore. I sighed softly, it sounded so weak.

"Iggy..." Shiho grabbed me, desperation flared through her so strongly that it made my heart hurt. How ridiculous, that her worry for me had me feeling worse than getting stabbed in the chest with a burning freaking stone. She pulled me close to her, and I could feel how fast her heart was pounding against my clenched hands.

"You're getting blood..." I muttered, trying to struggle away. Only my body didn't listen to me and I remained limply in place, the only thing holding me up was Shiho at the moment and I realized after a moment that...that she was crying.

"You'll be alright." She ordered.

"Kay..." I whispered, trying not to sound as tired as I felt. She helped me to lie down, and I heard Kid say that he was going to go and try to get the police in here so they could help me. Aoko followed him, so it was just me, Shinichi, Ran and Shiho. The pain, strangely enough, was ebbing away with every moment.

"Iggy..." Shiho said, "Don't go to sleep."

"Not..." I muttered, brushing her off irritably. I wanted to sleep. Sleep would mean that I wouldn't have to deal with all the crap anymore, and I was just...so tired of crap. I coughed, hating the way it made my chest hurt, hating the way I only vaguely took notice of that because my mind was so groggy.

"You need to stay alert." Shiho said sharply, her tone clinical. Underneath it I heard barely contained panic, and complete and total fear. Shinichi wasn't saying anything at all. I groggily considered asking him whether or not a cat had his tongue, somehow I didn't think he'd find it as funny as it seemed at that moment. "You have to fight because...because you're mine. You can't...leave me. I can't let you die because you protected me..."

"Reminds me..." I said, my mind flitting around like crazy. "Of a song I heard once."

I hummed the tune under my breath, surprised by how easily it came to me. And how very quiet the humming was. Part of me thought that it was very possible that they couldn't even hear me. I felt Shiho press her lips to my fingers. She was whispering a word, over and over. So quietly I couldn't hear it, I could only feel the way they formed against them.

"Please...please...please..." Shiho's agony stabbed through me like it was my own feeling.

"I will never let you fall...I'll stand up with you forever...I'll be there for you through it all..." I took a breath, "Even if saving you sends me to heaven. That's what the lyrics...were. I can't...remember the rest of the song...I really wish I could."

"Iggy..." Shiho moaned, the sound of her pain was raw in her tone. All of her barriers were gone...was that a good thing? "You can't. You can't do this...please don't talk like that. Please...I'm begging you. Just...stay strong until we can help you. We will. We will help you."

"I...don't think I can Shiho." I sighed, suddenly realizing just how utterly true those words were. That I wasn't going to walk out with these guys. I turned my head, "Oi...Shinichi? Don't forget to tell Ran that important thing...I think...it's something she needs to hear no matter what."

"Stop talking, save your strength." Shiho yelled at me. Shinichi only croaked something very small in reply.

"I'm sorry Ran." I said to her, wincing slightly, "I...liked you like a sister. I really did..."

"Baka, shut up!" Shiho screamed, panic entering her tone. Everyone was very quiet for a few moments and I was aware of the fact that time was slipping away. How was it that I was utterly out of my head at the moment with dizziness, yet these coherent things were tumbling over each other to get out into the world.

"I don't regret it." I told Shiho, she opened her mouth but I ran over her words breathlessly, "I don't regret getting hurt, knowing that you're going to be alright."

"No I won't...not without you." Shiho sobbed, suddenly breaking down. "I won't. I won't. I let you in Iggy, baka, I don't let anyone in anymore. I love you. I love you and the only other person I've loved was Onee-san! Don't do this to me! Don't leave me because I need you. I need you...Please stop talking...please Iggy...so that you can save your strength. Please...anything that can help to make sure you'll survive-"

"No, I can't." I told her, and had to pause just to breathe for a few moments. "I can't, because the worst mistake I ever made was leaving you without...saying goodbye. I'll never EVER do that again. I can't...Shiho..."

"Iggy please..." She sobbed.

"Maybe it's...stupid to think someone my age can fall in love. Most...parents would think so." I wheezed out a laugh, "Which is okay, since I don't have parents. I love you though Shiho. I know...that I was going to do so much with you. I thought of it all when I was coming to get you. We were going to go to a beach...and on a rollercoaster. I was going to take you...flying again...and..."

I had to stop, my air was running out. I shut my eyes, and listened to her sobbing. "I want to say I love you...but the words aren't enough..." I choked out a laugh, "Please...stay strong okay?"

"I can't." Shiho said, "One too many times. One too many times, I can't be strong because it's been broken too much Iggy. Please don't do this..."

"No matter where I am...I will love you as much as I do now." I muttered. "No matter what happens to me...I know with all of my heart that what I feel for you is strong enough to survive that. Even when I go...I'll still love you."

"I love you...please...please I love you and I can't bear it..." Shiho choked out. I shut my eyes and somehow found the strength to pull her close to me so that my lips kissed hers. They were salty with her tears, but I still shut my eyes blissfully somehow.

I pulled away, feeling like my head was spinning around and around. I was so tired now, I could hardly...focus my thoughts. They...kept drifting off. My hand was still pressed to her heart...so that the very last thing I felt...as the world faded away...was the pounding of her beautifully beating heart.

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_**-cries-**_

_**Don't stop reading because of that. **_

_**Please Review**_


	34. The Battle's Closing

_Disclaimer:_

_I do not own it..._

_**YAY! Guess what! I got my laptop!**_

_**Everybody, meet Stephen the Swift. Stephen the Swift, meet everybody! -gestures-**_

_**I'm really hoping that he will live up to his name. ^^**_

**_Em Phantom- Cliffhangers, or page-turners in normal books, are what keeps the public reading mah dear. If every chapter had a satisfying ending nobody would feel compelled to continue turning the page to see what happens next. Also, I just like being a little cruel sometimes. -cackles-_**

**_Elena Forest- Dear me, you got rather violent about that. X3 No grenades at Streaky please, if you do that then Blind-sided will be dumped on it's nose and you won't even get a nice little ending to wrap everything all together. Ah, and what happened to Jeb was this. Iggy looked around to find something to shoot at him along with the needle from the tranquilizer. He happened to get his paws on one of the APTXN pills that Gin had spilled all over the floor a little earlier. He held that loosely with his fingers and used the kinetic motion of the needle from the tranquilizer to basically shoot that into Jeb's mouth and make him choke on it. X3 _**

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_Chapter Thirty-four- The Battle's Closing_

A sort of stunned silence had covered the entire room. Shinichi stared blankly at the opposite wall, as if he couldn't really believe what had happened. And part of him couldn't. He had never expected, somehow, even in this dangerous situation that the person who would die would be Iggy. Somehow he had felt as if...Iggy was too strong to die.

Shinichi jerked into attention when Haibara let out a broken sob. Mechanically, coldly, the shrunken detective pushed passed the girl. His fingers sought out the all-too familiar spot he had grown accustomed to checking time after time. The place where one could feel a pulse.

Nothing. No heartbeat. The place where Shinichi put his fingers was earth shatteringly still. Sorrow welled up within him, and he vehemently wished that The Person hadn't been killed, just so he could get the justice he deserved for killing his friend.

His friend, his brother. Shinichi's heart hurt, but even with the agony whirling inside of him he couldn't bring himself to cry. The detective bowed his head, and hardly reacted even when Ran wrapped her arms around him. She held him close, and he was secretly glad for it. Because he felt as if she wasn't he was going to fall into small pieces, to break down and that was something he wouldn't do. He would not taint Iggy's memory by going berserk after his death.

As if it needed to be spoken he found himself croaking out the words, "He's gone..."

Haibara went very still. Shinichi was acutely aware of Kid and Aoko, who had returned, hovering in the background. The shrunken detective glanced over at his rival, and swore he saw a flash of sorrow in those eyes. After a moment Kid walked over to the corpse of The Person and stared down at the stone.

"Don't mess with that, Kid." Shinichi warned, exhaustion clear in his tone. The small detective leaned against Ran, grateful for her warmth at that moment. He didn't know how that stone worked, if it was some powerful element that somehow triggered the pressure in the air around it...or if it really was something magical. To be truthful Shinichi hardly cared about that at the moment.

An uncomfortable silence spread through the entire room. Kid glanced up from where he had been staring at the stone, his eyes seemed troubled, but then they were wiped clean of the emotion. "Tantei-kun we have to destroy it...so nobody else can get hurt."

* * *

Angel froze in the middle of the battlefield. Many of the organization members were arrested or severely wounded. Some were dead. Gazzy had gotten shot in the arm, and he was hiding out with a police officer by the name of Chiba that had gotten some shrapnel in his face.

Even though bullets whizzed agonizingly close to her head, she found herself standing very still. A single message had traveled through her brain waves, asserting itself with the sheer emotion that the thought held. Screaming emotion, an agony that Angel hoped to never feel. The agony of one who lost somebody they loved very dearly.

_No! No! No! Iggy's not dead! He's not dead!_ The internal shriek had Angel standing rigid in the middle of writhing turmoil. She didn't even move until Dylan suddenly scooped her up and rolled away. It took her a moment to realize that they had just narrowly avoided being exploded into a million little Dylan and Angel pieces.

"Are you alright?" Dylan asked her, but Angel was shoving him away from her. A new desperation mingled with something like confusion in her mind. Her Voice...it should have warned her about this. As it did about Fang...right?

That all too familiar feeling, the one from the very day that she had thought Fang was dead, slammed into her like a tidal wave. Tears filled her crystal blue eyes, and panic gripped her. Angel did the only thing she could ever think of doing in a situation like this. She opened her mouth and screamed with both her lungs and her mind. "MAAAAX!"

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Fang had forgotten how good it felt, to fight at her side. Yet every moment he spent with Max sent a stabbing pain through his heart. As much as he loved her, and he truly did, he had to put certain things before her. The world, for example.

He loved her...more than anything IN the world, that was true. But if there was no world there was no Max. Even an idiot like him could see that. So Fang had left her, he had been little more than a distraction to Max. A distraction that was dangerous to the Flock, and dangerous to her.

Even then though, they met each other. Twice now. Each time had him wanting to pull her close to him, to apologize for all the wrongs he had ever done to her. Yet he couldn't make himself do that. In the end he'd have to leave her again, or she'd have to leave him.

Oh, but they always fought so well with each other. Back to back, side by side. They were a team, made for each other. Dylan could go to hell on that retrospect, in Fang's opinion. Nobody would ever balance Max out better than Fang.

As if reading his mind, Max just flipped a man over. Fang caught him by the other wrist, and slammed him into the ground using teamwork with Max. Suddenly a shriek from Angel had Max stiffening. She shot up into the air and Fang followed not a heartbeat later.

They landed near Angel, who was in Dylan's arms and sobbing as if her heart had been broken. A sick feeling suddenly washed over Fang, and he watched as a look of fear entered Max's eyes. Dylan mutely handed the winged girl over to Max, and Angel buried her face in her neck.

"I-Iggy..." Angel choked out with a sob, "Iggy's dead Max!"

The first thing that Max said mirrorred everything Fang felt about this. That single syllable word described just how impossible this situation was. "No..."

"Where?" Fang asked Angel, keeping his tone calm and gentle. Angel's tear-streaked face peeked up at him. She seemed to go still for a few heartbeats, and Dylan worked on keeping the people around them at bay.

"There's a cliff on the back of the building. There should be...o-one window on the side." Angel's voice cracked, and she looked up at Fang with fearful eyes. "I can't sense Iggy at all. I can't...he's not..."

Fang took off into the air at the same moment Max did. She was still holding Angel to her chest, and after a moments hesitation Dylan turned back to the fight. Fang nodded his head mutely. Right now, Max would need Fang. Not Dylan.

* * *

Cold, calculating, clinical. He was a man who lived without fear. He was a man that lived with little emotion, except perhaps the joy of killing. He was not the kind of man that fled. He was not the kind of man that ran away.

Gin found himself memorizing those faces from that room. The way he only memorized those particularly pesky rats. Like Akai Shuuichi...yes. Gin was a man who felt little emotion, but he knew hatred well. Hatred could burn, but it could freeze as well. Hatred was a poison that could kill the user just as easily as the one they directed it at.

Those people, they would all die soon enough. Gin remembered how That Person had been killed. It was an unfortunate turn of events, but the man found himself smirking a little. Yes, this was an oppurtunity. The organization was his now. No man would dare to oppose him.

"Aniki!" Vodka panted behind him, trying to keep up. Gin stepped outside, pausing to take stock of what exactly was going on. A dead man was on the ground nearby, and he pulled a pistol from the holster at his hip. Checking the bullets confirmed that the gun was full. Vodka stopped next to him, staring, "Oi..."

Gin frowned. The police and the FBI...and it was clear they were winning. This meant he was going to have to get rid of everybody in this area...that bomb back in the station would do that job just perfectly. With no FBI or police to testify the organization would slip into the darkness once again.

"Vodka, get that package from the upper left cabinet." Gin said, cocking his pistol as he began to stride purposefully forward, "We'll merely get rid of-"

A bullet whizzed by, so close that Gin felt the air of it as it swept by on it's deadly path. Vodka fell down with a heavy thud, a new hole appearing right in the center of his forehead. Gin's cold eyes narrowed, icey hatred ran through his veins.

Akai stood, and lowered the gun he had used to kill Gin's partner with a smirk. Gin walked towards the man, and though there were people fighting all around them to Gin there was nothing. No fights for life around him, no turmoil. It was just him and the man that he so wanted to kill.

"You seem to be a bit shaken up, Gin." Akai spoke coldly, pistol held at a tense level, right at Gin's heart. Gin's was, likewise, pointed at the same organ of the man that sat before him. Gin only smirked in return.

"You seem a little scratched up." He replied in the same cold and even tone he always spoke in. There was something hidden beneath that tone, a hatred that Akai could clearly hear. Gin thirsted for this man's blood. This man who clashed with him so.

They moved at the same time. As if it were a dance, a synchronized act. Tension crackled through the air like lightning, and the two hardly noticed that their intensity had caused a momentary cease in all the fighting. Every man and woman, from both sides, was frozen to watch the outcome of the private battle between these two rivals.

It wouldn't take long, Gin knew. A bullet could end a man's life so quickly that one could hardly notice. Hundreds had fallen at the hands of Gin. So many people lost their lives to the trigger that Gin would pull...he had forgotten their names and faces by now. There was a time he kept track, but now he hardly cared.

Gin watched as his arm raised, the muscles of his finger itching to pull the trigger. As he lifted his arm he stepped to the side, trying to move around the man that stood before him. Akai was doing the same thing, the same exact movement as Gin. It just went to show how alike the two men really were.

The pistols were cocked at nearly the same time, the sound ringing through the oddly silent air like thunder itself. Gin realized at that instant that someone was behind. Somebody was a millisecond off in this dance of death, and no person would know until the trigger was pulled.

A gun in his face, the black holes in the barrel. Infinite darkness, like the organization he worked for. Black was everything, black was nothing. Black was the beginning, and black was the end.

A trigger was squeezed, the mechanisms in a gun were turning. A bullet was sliding it's way through the barrel, a deadly projectile intent on ending another life. Blood would be spilled. There was no avoiding it. Pain, so brief that there was no registering it, burned at Gin's forehead. A millisecond, it's how long he felt that agony.

Then the bullet was finished travelling it's destructive path, and the murderous man fell to the ground, his life taken in the manner many of his victims.

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The glass shattered around her, buried into her skin in and drawing blood. Max watched with narrowed eyes as everyone turned to her with a look of tensed alarm. And fear, there was definite fear in those eyes. Whatever had happened here...

She let her gaze drift immediately to the person lying on the ground. So pathetically small, so fragile. Max's heart wrenched, a feeling of guilt weighed down her shoulders. As heavy as the entire world it seemed, as her duty to the entire world.

_Iggy._ She thought, unable to move for a heartbeat. She stood, rigid and terrified, for a brief instant. Pain radiated through her chest, it felt as if some person had gone and punched a hole where her heart should have been. _I really and truly failed you, didn't I? Oh God...oh God no, not him...Not Iggy..._

She knew it was dangerous, but then the boy's logic for them to stay behind had made sense. Max's conscience was screaming at her. Guilt roiled through her, and she stumbled back. She would have fallen, if Fang didn't catch her from behind.

"Is he..." Fang's voice trailed off, and Max felt him wrap his arms around her. She was a strong person, she wasn't weak. Max...wasn't the kind of person who broke easy. She could literally count on one hand the times where she'd been so shattered by something that it had felt as if somebody was killing her.

Now was one of those times. Max bit back a scream, and buried her face in Fang's shirt.

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Christopher Smith was a veteran surgeon. He spent most of his life in Canada, but after becoming a surgeon and learning the language, the young man moved to Japan. He fell in love with the country almost immediately, and had been living there for nearly ten years now.

The man glanced down at the operating table, and tried to focus on staying coldly focused on his task at hand. A surgeon had to be seperated, if they let themselves get too shaken up by the things they saw everyday it could mean the death of a patient.

It was hard sometimes, especially during the particularly difficult surgeries. Especially during the ones that were labeled as hopeless the moment they were wheeled into the operation room on those gurneys. Christopher's eyes darted back to the small patient on the stretcher.

It was bad enough that everybody seemed to think the boy was as good as dead...but the fact that he was so very young...and he happened to be right around the age of Christopher's oldest son. It made him sick to his stomach, thinking that the people in this room had all but given up on that child.

_I won't give up though._ The man thought, warm brown eyes narrowing in concentration. _I swear it to you little boy. Not until your heart stops beating, and even then I'm going to try and bring you back as much as I can. Don't stop fighting, Tsuburya Mitsuhiko, because I'm still standing behind you._

* * *

Kazuha stood next to Heiji's bed, wringing her hands in worry. She wasn't technically supposed to be in here, only family could go in. Still, Heiji's mother had called and gave her permission to enter the room so somebody could be there for the wounded boy.

It had taken some pulled strings, but Kazuha managed to be here.

_He looks...pale._ Kazuha thought. Pale and very very...bad. The doctors had said something about a collapsed lung, so he was hooked up to a resperator. He had stitches, and was bandaged because of that. Heiji looked, for the first time ever since she'd ever met him, truly fragile.

Kazuha sat in the chair near his head, examining his features and wishing she could do something more than just be present. Tenatively she reached out and squeezed his hand, hating the fact that it felt almost cold to the touch, that he didn't squeeze it back.

The nice nurse had said something about Heiji not being in critical danger for now. That didn't mean he was out of the woods quite yet either. Kazuha hated the machines he was hooked up to. Hated the artificial sound that came with his chest expanding.

_Oh Heiji..._ Kazuha thought, tears flooding her eyes. What stupid thing had that ahou gone and done to get himself so hurt? And how DARE he do it without her there to make sure he didn't do it? So perhaps that didn't make as much sense as she would have liked it to but...

Heiji's eyelids flickered, and though he didn't opened his eyes he smiled in his unconsciousness. His fingers twined with hers, in the way that somebody does something in their sleep. Kazuha's tears spilled over her cheeks.

"Kami Heiji..." She choked out, almost glaring at him with that blissful smile on his face. "If you die before I get the chance to tell you how much I love you as much as possible I'll...I'll kick your butt you ahou!"

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Takagi breathed a sigh of relief as the last man was securely handcuffed. The young officer shuddered as he looked around, aware of the fact that there were some people who had their lives cut tragically short on this awful evening. Satou picked the young man they had cuffed up by the back of his shirt, and walked him to one of the FBI vans.

"These people are under arrest by the Japanese Police force." Megure-keibu spoke in a serious tone as he addressed James from the FBI. "They will be available by interrogation as soon as the FBI goes through the proper procedures of seizing persons from a different country the right way."

"Understood, Keibu-san." James said, dipping his head to Megure. Both men, like most of the people here, sported minor injuries. Takagi walked over to stand next to the two of them, anxiously wondering just how most of their forces were.

"Fatalities..." Takagi said, and let out an uncomfortable cough. He knew now that he'd never be able to be a soldier. That battle...because that is exactly what it had been, was the most terrifying thing Takagi had ever done. It wasn't that he was a coward...but he never ever wanted to be in a battle that was life or death like that ever again.

"Thirteen FBI agents." Jodie's grim voice made Takagi turn around to face her. Worry for the smaller group the police force had brought along spiked through him, "Zero police officers, however there seems to be a rather serious injury to Chiba-keiji back there. He's been rushed to the hospital by a young woman who was with you."

"Yumi-san." Satou said, as Takagi felt a dizzying sense of relief and worry at the same time. He hoped that Chiba would be alright, the officer was often on cases with Takagi, and the two of them were fairly close friends.

"Thirty-six enemy fatalities." This was spoken by a calm looking young man that had most of his face hidden in shadow. All that Takagi could really see were his olive colored eyes. Jodie seemed happy to see him though, despite this grim news. "Most of them committed suicide before capture, but we managed to take exactly seventy-two of their members and place them in the custody of the Japanese Police. This gross amount of people means there is no escape for Them. They've finally been cornered in a place that they'll never be able to escape from."

"Some of them managed to escape though." Satou spoke up, standing so close to Takagi that he felt a slight blush cover his cheeks , "That's to be expected though. So the perimeter is secure. Do you still have contact with that group you sent inside?"

"We do, they haven't found anything yet. It seems as if the building is designed a bit like a labyrinth." Jodie said softly, she looked around, her brow furrowing slightly. "As for those...ah, the students that were here earlier...they appear to have a few members missing."

Takagi blinked, looking around. So it seemed to be true, that there were at least three of the group missing. Takagi spotted the small dog standing nearby, so he knelt down to be eye level with the little animal. "Ah..."

"Total." The dog said, arching and invisible eyebrow at Takagi. Squirming a bit at the strangeness of speaking with an animal of all things, Takagi coughed and gestured behind him.

"Total-kun, do you know where the rest of your group happens to be right now?" Takagi asked, watching as the FBI members and Megure stared down at the tiny dog in complete shock. Total blinked a little, as though surprised and Takagi hastily babbled out, "I just assumed that you would know...you seemed to be pretty capable and...ah..."

"Oh, sorry." Total said, something like pleasure flaring up in his dark brown eyes. "Let me see...Gazzy appeared to have a minor gunshot wound, he was taken to the hospital with the police officer that was hurt. Dylan and Nudge are standing over their by that curly-haired inspector guy."

Total stopped suddenly, concern flaring up in his dark brown eyes as he glanced off toward the building. After a few moments the small dog turned his chocolate gaze on Takagi again. There was an immense amount of worry in those eyes, it almost caught Takagi off guard.

"It seems that...that Iggy was gravely injured." Total said, glancing over his shoulder toward the building again. "He...ah, we have suspicions that...it's very possible..."

"He's okay!" Takagi was startled by Nudge, who came up behind him. Her eyes were filled with tears, but there was determination there as well. "Iggy is NOT dead. He's just not, there was some sort of mistake...or...or..."

"Iggy-kun?" Satou said, her tone serious. "That means he's here as well as Conan-kun...and possibly injured. Total-kun do you have any idea where they might be in that building? Is there any way for us to get there?"

"There's a window in the cliff-side." Dylan said, "Though I doubt any of you would be able to get there. I bet we could at least inform everybody inside that things are under control out here.

"And make sure Iggy's okay..." Total added, glancing over at Nudge for a heartbeat. Takagi felt a sick feeling in his stomach. If a little boy was wounded because they had been unable to bring help in time...he could only hope that both Iggy-kun and Conan-kun would be alright.

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Mouri Kogoro most certainly did NOT want to be sitting in a hospital bed at the moment. The private detective felt jumpier than he ever had before. It was as if all of his nerves were placed on a hair trigger, and one could hardly blame him. His daughter, and the two children he was taking care of, were both apparently in danger.

Megure had been kind enough to leave behind some information before rushing out to rescue Ran from these people. Kogoro would have liked to have followed, but the door to his hospital room was being guarded. His attempt to climb out the window had been thwarted as well.

He never could handle the thought of his daughter being in any sort of danger. Oh, Kogoro could face anything else in the world, but if his daughter were to be killed...he didn't think he would be able to handle it. The tentative grip he held on what little sobriety he had would surely vanish. Kogoro wasn't even sure if he would be able to go on living if his daughter were to die. Kogoro felt a wave of nausea at the mere thought.

"Ran..." Kogoro muttered, glancing out the window. The door the hospital room he currently occupied suddenly opened, startling him somewhat. The person who had opened that door startled him all the more, and he found his eyes stretching wide in surprise. "Eri?"

"It seems you've managed to get yourself in trouble once more." Eri spoke in a calm voice as she crossed the floor and sat next to his head. "You really amaze me at the stupid things you can manage to do sometimes, dear."

Kogoro narrowed his eyes, trying to hide the fact that he was feeling incredibly relieved that she was here with him by looking a little irritated. "Getting attacked from behind is something stupid?"

"Clearly you weren't paying attention." Eri spoke in her normal clinical tone. With those words though, Kogoro felt his stomach churn sickeningly with guilt. The man stared down at his blanket, suddenly chastened.

"It was my fault...that Ran got taken." The man spoke harshly, focusing cold dislike on himself. Eri didn't say anything for a few moments, before she sat down next to him on the bed. Her hand grabbed his, and though she avoided his eyes he couldn't help but blink in surprise.

"You did nothing wrong, dear." Eri said softly, "And...Ran is strong dear. She must be just fine, we both have to have faith in that, faith in our daughter."

Looking into Eri's eyes for a moment Kogoro really had to believe that was the truth.

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Utterly heart shattering. One can never possibly know exactly how agonizing that feels until you experience it yourself. Shiho thought that she could never feel something as painful as the day she lost her big sister ever again.

Perhaps she had been correct, in a horrible way. This was not like the time she lost her sister. It was a pain that couldn't compare to it because it was different. She loved her sister, and she loved Iggy in two different ways.

Both of those ways had been shattered, and Shiho was aware that this time she might not be strong enough to move beyond the pain. The antidote was finished after all, the world didn't truly need her. Not without Iggy in it.

She was only dimly aware of Fang, Max, and Angel entering the room. She was only dimly aware as Shinichi moved around, focusing on what she should have been focusing on just then perhaps. Which was telling the two newcomers what had happened.

_Iggy..._She thought, hating how he was already growing cold. Shiho was crying, but it was something that was almost done unconsciously. She had retreated far into herself at the moment, so deep that she thought it was very likely she would never resurface again.

Was she truly this hated by cosmic powers? Was this agony some sort of punishment brought on because she had created one of the most ruthless poisons to ever be used against a human being? Shiho felt as if she was being literally choked by the unfairness of it all.

_He didn't deserve to die._ She thought to herself, shutting her eyes and letting the tears leak out from beneath her eyelids. _He was INNOCENT damn it all! He never deserved anything like this! His life was hell enough...and now he's gone..._

Oh he was gone. The absence was sickeningly clear to her. She hated it, hated all of this.

Shiho was not a woman who dealt with emotion well. She was cold, clinical. The emotion she ever did feel was something that she hid deep inside of herself. She was trained to do this because of that accursed organization, but now she found herself terribly exposed for all the world to see. Her heart had been shattered, and she could do nothing at all to hide the fact.

"-beyond any kind of medical help." Shinichi's voice drifted into her consciousness, and Shiho glanced up at the shrunken detective who was standing with an expression of grief on his face. The small boy was in front of Dylan, Max, and Angel, and as he glanced down he choked out, "I'm..sorry."

_As if it's your fault, Kudou-kun. _Shiho thought, feeling a slightly delirious twinge of amusement at the poor small teenager. She felt her fingers loosen their hold on Iggy's hand before slowly standing up. Tears somehow still tracked their way down her face. _It wasn't you he died trying to protect..._

Slowly she tracked her way back toward the man who had killed Iggy. Shiho stared down at him, wishing despondently that she had the chance to take revenge. Oh, it was wrong she knew. But she wanted it so badly...so badly that it hurt.

Shiho could do little about that, when the man was dead. The shrunken girl bent down, her fingers merely a centimeter from the shimmering surface of that red stone. Ran's hand was placed firmly on her shoulder, and Shiho glanced over at the girl, ignoring the way she winced away from the dead look that was sure to be in her eyes.

"Ai-chan, you...that stone is dangerous." Ran said. Shiho glanced back down at it before opening her mouth.

"The Pandora Gem, The Philosopher's Stone, The Sorcerer's Stone, The Elixir of Life, The Crimson Elixir..." Her voice sounded even emptier of emotion than usual, and she knew her face bore no expression. She only had her tears. "This stone is of many legends. It is said to have the ability to change lead into gold, and to give eternal life."

"Ai-chan...you can't possibly truly want those things. You saw what it...did..." Ran trailed off as Shiho closed her fingers on that stone. It pulsed under her fingers, burned the palm of her hand. She moved, turning to walk slowly back to Iggy.

"There is a possibility that...that I could bring him back with this." Shiho softly murmured, "Even if it's the smallest possibility, even if it's supposed to be impossible...I have to TRY..."

Silence filled the room. Shiho hadn't been aware that everyone was paying attention to her. She knelt next to Iggy, and with a slight wince she pressed the stone against his chest. Desperation flooded through her, mingling with the overwhelming grief that swirled like clouds in her mind.

_Please..._She thought, frozen mask of no emotion vanishing from her face. Her raw desperation was shone there, and judging from the way that Ran and the other's glanced away it was somehow worse than before.

_**

* * *

**_

To describe the indescribable...it's an impossibility. I was...I don't really know where. A place that was closed in, but open. A place that was completely and utterly black, and yet blindingly white all at the same time. I didn't see a tunnel with light...but I'm just unsure if I was dead long enough to not see it yet. Or maybe I was supposed to be a ghost. I don't know how to explain everything...

Heh, maybe I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel because I'm still blind, even in death. That's either slightly amusing, or just really really sad, and I'm kinda leaning towards the latter with that one.

I was...aware, I guess. Though I couldn't truly feel anything. Or hear anything. So maybe it wasn't all that odd that I couldn't see anything either. I was aware that I felt...unhappy. Worse than I've ever felt ever before.

Yet I was relieved too...

I had said something important...some important things. Something had happened, but I couldn't seem to recall what. All my mind could focus on was the strange surreal quality of the NOW that I seemed to be in. But it wasn't just now. It was then, and it was going to be to.

Then, finally, somewhere in the darkness came that light I'd been expecting all along. I don't know why I was expecting it, maybe it had something to do with urban legends. Or just the fact that that's exactly what everybody said all the time. When you die you see a light at the end of a tunnel.

I was dead. Holy crap.

I somehow didn't really realize that until just now. It made me...feel scared. What was going to happen? Would that light lead me to Heaven? Was there a Heaven, and if so did I belong there? Perhaps Hell would have better suited a guy like me.

And what...what about Shiho.

_Please..._I could almost hear her voice swirling around me in the dark-light of this strange place. Of the crossroads of the dead, that seems to be more than a fitting name for where I stood now. It came...I could have sworn that it came from that light.

I don't know how I moved, because I'm pretty sure that I kind of didn't have any feet. But I did, somehow I drew myself closer to that light. Trying to ignore the instinctual fear I felt for it since the light was a pulsating red.

Red was a color to fear. Red was the color of my death.

I stopped, my being tightening around myself in dislike. No, I couldn't go there. Not to the redness, not towards what would only remind me of agonizing pain and heart shattering goodbyes. If I went back the other way I wouldn't have to go towards the red...

_Come back Iggy. Please come back..._Those words again...Shiho? But how...or why? The red, she was in the red, and I had to get her out of it somehow. Which meant that I was going to have to go into it.

Terror, fear. My whole being was repulsed by that idea. To have to face the very thing that ended my life...who could blame me? It was a sickening terror that had me stuck in indecision. My heart would have been hammering...had I had one at that moment.

I love Shiho more than I hate being afraid. I love Shiho more than that light scared me. I would go into it, no matter what. Even if it meant dying again...er, I don't think you could really do that in the state I happened to be in, but I would do it.

I would risk eternal damnation for her, as cheesy as that sounds.

Going into that light...it brought unimaginable agony to me. I was surrounded by read, I was gasping in pain, and then I knew nothing at all. Not the strange place I'd been before, and not the real world. There was nothing for me, and for the moment I was content with it.

* * *

_**What happened?**_

_**Did he come back to life? Or was the pain too great and was his mind and soul completely shattered?**_

_**Well whatever happened it'll all become clear in the next update. The VERY last one. That's right folks, next upload is the epilogue!**_

_**Reviews are as loved now as they ever were.**_


	35. Epilogue

_Disclaimer:_

_I wish that I owned the COMPANY that has DC and Maximum Ride, that way I could read all the neat little transcripts and get a bunch of cool stuff without having to pay for it, and just the availability of the things! -cackles- If I owned DC I would totally be watching the newest movie right this moment, and not waiting for it while being driven half insane._

_**My God...**_

_**This is the last update for Blind Sided EVER.**_

_**-sobsob- I'm gonna bloody miss this so much! **_

_**Ah, gomen gomen. -pulls self together-**_

_**I gotta get sappy here though guys, and thank people.**_

_**First and foremost, thank you to mah reviewers (you know who you are) I love, love, love that I got more than a hundred reviews for this fanfiction. It was my personal goal, and I squealed a bit when I saw that there were a hundred and one of them floating back there. :3**_

_**But there is one person that I need to thank more than anybody else...**_

_**And that's Iggy. X3 Thanks for putting up with me buddy, and tossing so much muse my way. I've fallen head over heels in writer's love with your character, and hope that you'll get some more attention from James Patterson. -cuddles-**_

_**Em Phantom- I know! I'm blown away by the fact that it's already over, and yet that's a bit odd considering it's the longest freaking thing I've ever written EVER.**_

_**Aleathiel Elendil- Yay you're back! -hug- I'm so glad that everything is to your liking, and I'm glad you liked the ShinRan truth bit. It was mah favorite moment in the ENTIRE fanfiction. (Closely followed by the HeiKaz chipmunk and Starry night with Iggy and Shiho)**_

_**Elena Forest- I know, I'm almost sad to see it go. -sniff- But yet I'm so bloody proud that I FINISHED it. And with people that really really liked it to. That makes even the sad part of ending something all that much better. I can only hope that it's a satisfying ending for you all. X3**_

_**Simp- Oh, hey you. Tagging along onto this because of my obsessive yacking all the time X3 I'm glad you've enjoyed it. As for doing the characters...I fell in love with Iggy's character. He basically thinks and says everything that I'm not brave enough to ever put into words in my own head. It makes him very fun to write. X3 I was actually worried about Max whenever I did her. She's hard O.o I'm glad you liked Chapter Twenty-five, I almost actually made that a oneshot but thought it went better with this story because it needed some lightening up. I think it's awesome that you like Shiho, she's ridiculously cool and very hard to get in character sometimes but I positively adore her. Anyways, here's the end of this fanfiction so you don't have to feel so cheated anymore X3**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Epilogue_

The first thing I was aware of was agony. Incredible agony that filled me to my very core. I gasped, the breath hurt my chest. But it was somehow better than the strange place I had been in, because Shiho was here, and she was shaking with her relief.

"Oi…" I croaked, "You're getting tears on me…Shiho…"

She didn't say anything, only pulled me into a painfully awkward hug. I shut my eyes, longing for sleep. I was in pain, but something told me that I wasn't anywhere near death anymore. No…I had been dead, not near it. Behind us there was a completely stunned silence. I shut my eyes, glad for it so I could just revel in the feeling of silence and just be there…with Shiho.

It couldn't possibly last, not forever.

"Ho. Ly. Crap." Kid spoke each individual syllable and the utter shock in his tone was almost comical. In fact, I snorted a bit with laughter, which only resulted in me having to hold my breath because of the pain it caused. Something dropped out of Shiho's hand and landed on the ground. It shattered, but I couldn't begin to know what it was. I hardly had time to, because just as this happened blessed unconsciousness, for like the millionth time, swamped over me and I was deaf to the world.

* * *

I groaned in irritation as Ran helped me fix my sweatshirt. I tried to bat her away, embarrassment causing my cheeks to flush a little bit. "Ran-san PLEASE, I'm perfectly capable of getting a sweatshirt adjusted. My leg is the one broken, not my arm."

"Mou, Iggy-kun, it's been askew for nearly an hour and it's driving me half insane." Ran replied almost irritably. "There, it looks better now, ne, Shinichi?"

My friend snorted, his childish voice rather bored as he stated, "Really Ran, why don't you just leave him alone? I don't think that Iggy is the kind of guy that really cares too much about his appearance. All you're doing is making him into a grump."

"Look who's talking." I retorted, "You sound like somebody stole your deduction right out from under your nose. What's with you?"

There was a collective group wince after that, but I sighed as Shinichi helped to push my wheelchair after the pause. I would have been able to go for crutches, but I was shot in the knee as well so that kinda ruled that out for me.

Almost two weeks had passed since the downfall of the organization. Even now the normalcy of a conversation involving how my sweater looked seemed a bit strange. Yet there was something almost like relief in it all, mingled with the strange shock that everything was finally over.

For me everything HAD been over. For a few minutes I was gone. I felt my hand go to my chest, expecting to feel the crater that had been there before Shiho had used the Pandora Gem to bring me back.

I knew now, of course, that the shattering noise had been the Pandora Gem. Kid had said something after it all, that perhaps the only way to really destroy the Pandora Gem was to use a massive amount of it's power…but have a pure enough heart not to become corrupted by it.

We all agreed that was incredibly cheesy though, and just decided that the thing had been overtaxed.

I felt Shinichi tense up behind me as we reached Agasa's sidewalk. I couldn't help the chuckle that went through me as I lightly stated, "Sheesh Shinichi, since when are you the type of guy to get nervous at an unveiling of information. Could it be because you happen to be in the spotlight?"

"Possibly…" Shinichi stated, though it sounded as if he were far away. I snorted and heard Ran let out a laugh of something like amusement when the detective, probably scowling, stated. "You can hardly blame me Iggy, but these people…deserve to know."

"Shiho doesn't like it." I stated, thinking of the scientist with a small smile. "Even after everything, she's pretty reluctant about letting out all of that information regarding all of this. I suppose that since most of those people already know about the organization…"

"It will be good to know the truth of things." The voice behind me was one I didn't know, and I felt a questioning look go on my features. The voice was soft, and definitely male, but there was a deep sadness in them as well. "I'd like to know…what I couldn't protect Sonoko from."

"That's Makoto-kun…" Shinichi told me as Ran greeted him. "He's a karate champion as well…and…was kind of Sonoko's boyfriend."

I blinked, feeling a twinge of sadness. I hadn't known Sonoko very well, but her death was still something that made me unhappy. I blinked a bit, and found myself feeling very awkward. I couldn't imagine the depth of sorrow poor Makoto was feeling right now.

"Conan! Iggy!" The excited yell alerted my attention, and my chair was almost knocked over by Genta. He ignored the fact that I happened to be in a slightly fragile state, and rubbed his fist vigorously on the top of my head.

"Ow, cut it out Genta!" I complained, trying to push the young boy off. He only laughed and rubbed on my head harder until Ayumi managed to push her way between us. She gave me a quick hug, just brimming with her childish energy.

"I thought I wasn't going to see you for a long time!" Ayumi said, then she said, in a slightly pouting tone of voice, "Then again two weeks is FOREVER Iggy-kun! And we didn't even know you were here until yesterday!"

"Mou, guuuuys…" Mitsuhiko said, sounding a little winded. "I'm hardly supposed to be walking and you guys keep running off on me…"

"How are you feeling, Mitsuhiko-kun?" Shinichi asked. I snickered at the clear concern that was in his tone, and winced as he flicked me on the back of my head in reply. Jerk. "They said that you…ah, were in a lot of trouble for awhile there."

"Smith-sensei was very skilled." Mitsuhiko said brightly, "I'll have a scar…and I've been a bit tired lately. However things seem to be going rather smoothly. I don't feel ill anymore, though I'm supposed to stay on a specialized diet for a few weeks."

"Sounds like he's okay." I said with a laugh. "We can be buddies for a little while, Mitsuhiko-kun. We both got banged up…I heard you gave quite the show of bravery for Ayumi-chan there."

"Iggy-kun!" Mitsuhiko complained, sounding slightly embarrassed. I laughed at him and we continued on our way together into the house. The kids all but ran inside, leaving poor Mitsuhiko behind again to sigh softly and mutter, "Why can't they pace themselves? Oh well…here I go again."

"Looks like everybody is here finally." Akai's cool tones sounded from the center of the room. "Many things will become clear to us I believe by the end of this little meeting."

"The doctors said Heiji needs to recover, so he couldn't be here." Kazuha said, sounding rather nervous. "He wasn't very happy that he couldn't come, Ran-chan, and complained for a really long time. The nurse threatened to sedate him."

I had to smother laughter at that thought, and heard Shinichi let out a small snicker. There was a sudden slamming of the door behind us, and I heard Kazuha let out a squeak of surprise and Shinichi's chuckling subside almost instantly. "Oi, Hattori…"

"You're supposed to be at the hospital! Ahou! You'll kill yourself!" Kazuha roared.

"Ahou, I'm feelin' just fine. So I decided ta leave, that's all." Hattori sounded as if it was perfectly normal for somebody to wander out of a hospital. Shinichi let out an irritated snort and Kazuha continued to complain to him.

The list of invited people was as follows; The Detective Boys, Kogoro, Eri (apparently Ran's mother, this was the first time I met her), Megure, Takagi, Satou, Kazuha, Hattori, the Flock and some FBI agents that I met in the pandemonium following the capture of a good chunk of the organization, Jodie, James, Akai and Camel.

"Well, let's get this thing started then. You all have a ton of questions I'm sure." Shinichi spoke calmly, dropping any childish act he ever did like it was a dirty shirt. "The reason most of you are the ones we invited here is because you were involved with the clash that happened a couple weeks ago, you deserve to know what happened."

"Ah, yes, that is understandable Cool Kid." Jodie said, "However…why are the children here?"

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?" Genta yelled.

"We were involved too!" Ayumi said, then paused, "I think we were…"

"I got shot." Mitsuhiko stated in a rather calm and usurping tone of voice. I chuckled at them, and heard Shinichi echoing the same noise next to me.

" 'Cool Kid' as you put it, is a child as well." Shiho's cool voice sounded next to me, causing me to jump a little. I hadn't noticed her sneaking up on me, and she placed her hand on my shoulder as she continued, "Well…that's technically speaking of course."

"Technically speaking?" Megure asked, "I knew it, he's not a real child at all."

Everyone stiffened. I blinked, really if I could have chalked up anybody to having figured out Shinichi's true identity I would have never pegged Megure as the person who figured it out. He was right up there somewhere with Kogoro.

"…he's a Shinigami!" Megure stated, and I almost literally fell out of my wheelchair because of that. Shinichi let out something like a nervous laugh, and I heard Shiho let out a soft snort beside me. Me, I wasn't so successful, I was basically laughing my hind-end off over that.

"Oh give him a break Iggy." Shinichi snapped at me, I only laughed harder.

"Not laughing…at him." I wheezed, "I'm laughing, cause it totally…makes sense…ehehe…"

"If looks could kill Iggy would be six feet under by now." Gazzy announced cheerfully. It only served to make it harder for me to stop laughing, but I somehow managed to at least tone it down and smother my laughter.

"Now that Iggy's done having his little fit over there…" Shinichi stated, sounding slightly irritated, "I'll answer Jodie-sensei's question. As the Detective Boys said earlier, they were indeed involved. The main reason they are here is because they need to know that this is something delicate that they can't go around talking to everybody about."

"So wouldn't it be best to send them on their way without telling them anything?" That was actually Max, her tone filled with worry. The Detective Boys let out a lot of indignant noises at that, but I shook my head.

"They got involved, they have just a right to know as everybody else in this room. If we don't want them to hear anything that has to be said then we should send Angel out as well." I pointed out, and with a knowing smirk I added, "And me, Conan and Ai as well."

"We've established that the Detective Boys will remain in the room." Eri said in a clinical sort of tone. "Now if there truly are important matters that need to be discussed I suggest we go on ahead and start discussing them."

"Quite." James agreed.

"This better be good you little free-loaders." Kogoro added with a snort, "I'm missing Yoko-chaaaan…"

There was a moment of silent coupled irritation towards the man who seemed to have had some sort of mental breakdown because of his missing his favorite television show. Kogoro stopped his little pity party, probably because of something Eri was doing judging by the intense tension coming from that side of the room.

"Alright…" Shinichi took a deep breath. "Where do I start?"

"How about this?" I said, deciding that taking a blunt approach would be the best route than anything else. "You all are probably wondering why a kid like Conan, and me I guess if you count me, why kids like us happened to be involved with that group of creeps that oh-so nicely decided to beat the holy living snot out of me. Well I guess the best way to answer you is by saying that technically that's not the case…that kids are involved. Well, I suppose that depends on your interpretation of kids…ah, you see…"

"I'm not really seven years old." Shinichi spoke calmly, "I'm seventeen. And my real name is Kudou Shinichi."

Utter and complete silence followed those words. I could almost imagine the looks that everybody was giving the shrunken boy, and then, all at the same time several people burst into laughter. Shinichi groaned beside me.

"Co-Conan-kun…" Takagi said, trying to let his voice be heard over the uproar. "Ah..you see that just…it's not…"

"What it doesn't make any sense to you?" Shinichi asked in a rather flat tone. The laughter was cut off in the room as Shinichi spoke very calmly, "Megure-keibu perhaps you remember the case at Tropical Land? There were two suspicious men wearing dark clothing. I followed one of them, and while I was watching him and overhearing him talk about a drug smuggling company I was clubbed in the head from behind. They fed me a test drug."

"Apotoxin, and a bunch of numbers after that that I forget." I said. I felt Shiho give me a sharp glance and shrugged my shoulders helplessly at her, "What? The numbers are numbers, it's not like it's the most important part of the name or anything like that…"

"I see now…" Satou spoke softly, thoughtfully, "That's why you're so intelligent…and all those things you ever said at cases…they weren't just the innocent musings of a child but hints to lead us in the right direction."

Kogoro coughed and several heads turned in his direction. I felt a grin fighting it's way onto my face as the man slowly said, "Are you saying…that this little free-loader…happens to be that detective jerk…who has, on SEVERAL occasions, slept in the same bedroom as my DAUGHTER!"

"Otou-san!" Ran said, sounding embarrassed, "Nothing happened, Shinichi didn't do anything…"

"I'LL KILL YA YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Kogoro yelled, and Shinichi let out a very childish sounding squeak and the jerk totally used my wheelchair as a shield of all things. I let out a yelp as he jerked the chair around to block Kogoro's path.

"Dear you should probably leave him alone…" Eri's calm voice caused Kogoro to stalk back to the couch grumbling. She added, with a hint of a threat in her tone, "We can always file against Kudou-kun for sexual assault, ne?"

"Oi, oi…" Shinichi stated in reply.

"Heiji you KNEW didn't you?" Kazuha said, and I heard the Osakan let out something similar to a nervous laugh. Kazuha let out an irritated snort, "And he kept that from Ran-chan all that time, didn't he?"

"It's alright Kazuha-chan, Shinichi explained his reasons to me." Ran said with a smile in her voice. I heard Shinichi let out a small sigh and Ran said, "Shinichi doesn't know much more than the FBI does themselves, ne, Shinichi-kun?"

"Nothing." Shinichi said, "All I know is that I have access to the antidote, Iggy, Ai, and I are the only ones who were shrunk."

We had decided, so as to not risk getting Shiho in trouble, to leave out the fact that she was the creator of that drug. I was surprised that Shinichi was willing to go through with it, but he had said that as long as he had an antidote he was alright with it. And I daresay that he thought Shiho had paid the price for her crimes.

"Antidote, that means ya can go back to being normal!" Hattori exclaimed, and then burst into a coughing fit. There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence, and it kind of surprised me. It was Ayumi, speaking in a very timid manner, that voiced what might have been the secret opinion of everyone in the room.

"Does that mean…no more Conan-kun?" Ayumi sounded almost sad as she spoke these words. I heard her whimper, "You and Iggy-kun…does that mean that…are you too old to be our friends anymore?"

"Nuh-uh!" Genta stated, "I don't care how tall Conan gets, I'm still the leader of the Detective Boys and he's still a member. He can't quit, I won't let him."

"Is Conan-kun really Kudou-kun?" Mitsuhiko said, after I nodded he let out a squeak. "M-my apologies Kudou-senpai! We re-really should have been much more polite to you…"

"Shinichi is fine Mitsuhiko-kun." Shinichi said with something like a smile in his voice. "You guys were very brave many of the times I was with you, and I hope that you'll be willing to let me take you camping a few times with the Hakase…"

"Of course Co…ah, I mean Shinichi-kun!" Ayumi squeaked.

"So you three will be back to normal soon?" Fang spoke in a calm tone of voice, but the words caused me to wince. I clenched my teeth, and my fists. It was Shiho's calm voice speaking next, and I'm sure the words sounded cold to everyone else but I could hear the regret in them.

"No…the antidote won't work on Iggy." Shiho said, making my stomach knot uncomfortably. "I attempted to adjust an antidote to make up for his abnormally fast metabolism…unfortunately the antidote becomes lethally dangerous if I do that. It puts a large amount of strain on the body changing the body like that, and the addition to account for Iggy's metabolism causes more stress than any antidote before. It would undoubtedly kill him, and I'm only glad that I was able to realize this in time."

Silence, I tried to keep myself from looking unhappy, but the truth was…I'd never been more disappointed in my entire life. It made me sick to my stomach, realizing that both Shiho and Shinichi could return to normal…but I couldn't.

"Of course I'll be remaining a child as well." Shiho spoke the words so calmly, but I found my head shooting up and my eyes blinking in slight surprise. She sounded ever so slightly amused as she said, "You can't be all that surprised Iggy. You didn't think I'd leave you…and things would be rather awkward between us if I was more than ten years older than you."

I smiled weakly back at her. Well, that made things a bit better. I yelped when Ayumi suddenly hugged me very tightly. Genta and Mitsuhiko joined them, and I winced a little since I was still sore. "Oi, oi, you guys what the heck…"

"You'll be able to stay in school with us!" Ayumi cheered.

"That is…assuming Iggy-kun will be staying here with us and not going with his friends." Mitsuhiko spoke softly, and the three children paused in their affectionate mauling to take a moment to writhe in worry. I blinked, that was a question I hadn't approached myself quite yet because I…I didn't know the answer to it.

I liked them evenly…okay, as strange as it sounds it wasn't completely even. That was only because Shiho kind of tipped the scales a bit, but that was technically an unfair advantage. You can't exactly count the girl I ended up falling in love with.

Blech, how mushy.

"Iggy's staying here." Max spoke so calmly, and as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and it surprised the holy living heck out of me. My mouth dropped open, and I heard her snort in irritation as she added, "Oh please, I'm not a dictator."

"Yeah, like, the last time we dragged you off with us you acted like a grumpy black rain cloud. Except you weren't, like, all stormy or anything. You were just totally sad, and really unhappy and that made US all sad and unhappy so then we all decided the other day that we would probably let you stay here…" Nudge was cut off by Angel.

"We'll miss you of course…" Angel said.

"But it's not like we won't see you as much as possible." Gazzy added, "we're going to probably move the main house somewhere around here, so when we aren't flying around doing all that other crazy stuff we always end up doing we'll be bothering you."

"We rather like Japan, and Max is getting better at understanding the language." Dylan added.

"Finally." Total sighed, Max made an irritated sound.

"And besides…" Fang stated calmly, with something like a smirk in his tone, "We can't exactly take him away from his girlfriend, can we now?"

My cheeks flared up, and I glared in his direction. Fang let out a short laugh and Takagi let out a nervous exclamation of, "Iggy-kun I think you want to turn your head just a little bit to the left…th-there you go that's better."

"But I'm glad!" Ayumi announced, "Iggy-kun and Ai-chan will still be in school, ne? And Shinichi-kun will be our mentor."

"Eh? Now hold on…" Shinichi said, but the children overrode any chance he had at denying them. I could only manage to laugh, and feel a twinge of gratefulness. I really did have the most awesome friends, the most awesome families, on both sides.

_**

* * *

**_

The actual explanation took several more hours. By the end of it all Hakase ended up having to drive the children home because they'd all fallen asleep. Makoto had seemed a little unsatisfied at the end, and he left in the direction of the cemetery.

"He's young, he'll eventually recover." Shiho spoke calmly as she stood next to me. I felt her hand slip into mine, and my cheeks flared up a bit. She wasn't very openly cuddly, but the small gestures, like her holding my hand and touching my shoulder, were enough for me.

"Will he? I don't know if I could…" I said, feeling a pang of sympathy for Makoto. Shiho remained very quiet after that, and softly I muttered, "I won't do that to you again…as long as I can help it Shiho. I'm sorry…"

"For dying? Baka…" Shiho snorted almost scornfully at me and I found myself frowning.

"Aw, c'mon…" I complained, "Why is it every time I talk with you I end up feeling a little stupid towards the end."

"Because I have a way of getting the truth out of people?" She replied with something similar to a smirk in her voice. I feigned offense, and snorted at her in faked irritation. Shiho let out a very soft laugh, one that I was beginning to learn only happened around me.

"Will this antidote really work for Shinichi permanently, Miyano-chan?" Ran asked softly, her voice twinged with something like concern. Shinichi had waited until the majority of people left before heading upstairs to take the antidote.

"I have strong faith in this one." Shiho said calmly, "I'm eighty-percent certain that he will remain in his normal form, however I will be keeping a close eye on him for about a week afterwards. And if he feels any strange spasms or anything you may have to bring him to a safe place."

"I see…" Ran said, worry in her tone now. "It's so…hard on him…"

"Barro, I'm perfectly fine." Shinichi's normal (to everyone else) voice sounded behind us, and I suppressed a pang of jealousy at that. I didn't need to be my normal age, as long as Shiho was with me. Shinichi stopped by Ran. "See, nothing wrong."

"Mou, Shinichi…" Ran said, but she sounded more relieved than anything else. I fought a small smile and coughed politely into my hand.

"Well Shinichi, I think it would be good of you to fill Ran in on that last secret you kept from her. Come on Shiho, let's give Shinichi a little bit of time to spill his guts." I grinned as Shiho quietly pushed my wheelchair back into the house. I would have liked to have been there for this but…well I could leave them to privacy.

* * *

"Last secret?" Ran said, Shinichi noticed that she looked slightly irritated as she said this. Something like nervousness washed through him. What if he turned back into Conan even after he told her this? Wouldn't it just make things more complicated, "Mou, Shinichi, what is it now?"

"Eh?" Shinichi blinked, "Secret? I don't have a secret…" Shinichi grinned at her.

"You 're really good at finding out when other people are being deceptive, but mou Shinichi you can't blatantly lie very well." Ran put her hands on her hips, giving Shinichi a very critical look. Shinichi grinned back at her, but let his face drop into a somber expression as he glanced away from her.

"Do you remember…when I said that if my deduction was correct…we wanted to ask each other the same question?" Shinichi's face heated up slightly and he suddenly, for perhaps the first time in his life, found himself having a hard time keeping eye contact.

He was not a shy young man. He was not a nervous young man. Shinichi was a teenager that possessed an almost ridiculous amount of self-confidence.

"Shinichi?" Ran asked, her own face was bright red and he found his heart pounding a little bit faster. Oh, she would have no idea just how beautiful she looked like that. "I…yes, I remember that. And…I…was wondering…of you remembered that first time I walked…walked Conan home."

"Eh?" Shinichi blinked, and recalled the night. A blush covered his cheeks and he gave her a quick smirk, "Oh, yeah, I remember that night Ran…"

"So…what does that mean?" Ran said, looking up at Shinichi, "Shinichi…are…are we more than friends?"

Shinichi snorted, suddenly gaining all of his confidence back in that single action. He stepped forward so that his face was very close to Ran's, and enjoyed the way the color on her cheeks darkened a little bit. He found his smirk twitching the corner's of his mouth and he smoothly grabbed her chin between his index finger and thumb.

"Barro." He breathed, "Of course we're more than friends."

And then he kissed her.

_**

* * *

**_

"So I guess Shinichi's still going to be living at the agency for a little while, on account of the fact that Okiya-san over there still happens to be living in his house." I grinned, "I bet he'll be sleeping on the couch though."

Apparently Okiya had been suspected of being a member of the organization called Bourbon. It turned out, however, that Okiya was an old rival of Shinichi's father. He'd suspected something was up with Shinichi, and when he discovered that Edogawa Conan had appeared around the same time he vanished…well it had piqued the guy's interest.

"And you?" Shiho asked me.

"Oh…I'll probably live there with them until Shinichi gets his own house back. I'll move into the Kudou household when they figure out a place for Okiya-san to go." I shrugged my shoulders, "That would work the best, I'm assuming, since the Flock could all fit in there when they come as well."

"At the small risk that the School would burn it down." Shiho said, sounding slightly amused. I smiled at her, and felt that smile broaden into a grin when she put her face rather close to mine. "Though I would recommend you supervise Kudou-kun and Mouri-chan."

"Was that a hint at something dirty?" I said with a smirk, "Gross, no thanks. Situations like that are incredibly awkward, and people tend to forget that while blind guys can't see all that well, we can hear perfectly fine."

"That…was a little too much information Iggy." Shiho said with a snort.

"Aw, but you found it amusing and that was what my intention was all along." I grinned at her, "In other words, mission success. So what do I get in return? Surely the bold hero gets something for going through all the crap I went through. You know, shrinking, ending up with a mystery obsessed shrimp, having that shrimp become my brother, meeting a scientist, falling in love with that scientist, and getting the snot beat out of me by a creepy organization…what does Iggy get for doing all of that?"

Her nose touched mine, and even though I couldn't see I know she was smirking. "How about absolutely, positively nothing?"

"Aw, but that's unsatisfying for me." I said with a whine, "And think of what's expected of us. Come on, the hero always gets to kiss the girl at the end of the story. Or movie. Usually with a sunset in the background or something equally romantic."

"We have the kitchen behind us." Shiho replied with a smirk.

"Alright, that's it, shut up and kiss me." I said, she let out a small laugh before she leaned forward. Our lips met, and I daresay a few stars exploded. Yes, I was going to have to relive my childhood, and that was pretty much going to suck. But knowing that every step of the way I was going to have Shiho with me…

Yes, it made everything worthwhile. All the things that had happened, all the pain I went through…and all the things that WOULD happen. I could do anything with her by my side. Besides, I had a new older brother to torment, and some kids to look after.

Do you want some advice from me folks? Here it is, if ever you end up in a bad situation that seems completely hopeless remember that all things happen for a reason. The great thing about going through hell is that it's just that, you're going through it. Which means, in the end, you'll eventually come out on the other side.

Now, I want to hang out with my new girlfriend. So skedaddle you, and maybe one day we'll meet each other again. Bye-bye.

* * *

_**And that's it folks!**_

_**I actually rather liked how I ended that.**_

_**I just had to throw in the part with Ran and Shinichi. I was like, "ZOMFG! I didn't let those two confess their feelings for eachother! How could I have forgotten!"**_

_**But I'll miss Iggy so bloody much. You've got no idea.**_

**_Though there was ONE thing that I really didn't like about my fanfic. It's kind of small, but I was reading back through it and it drove me half insane...Kogoro. I hope I kind of redeemed him in this last chapter, I made it seem like I hated him or something. He's funny, and I didn't give him hardly any lines. How cruel of me. -hugs Kogoro-_**

_**Reviews were always appreciated, and I'd adore to hear from you for this last upload as well. I'll be sure to reply to any that you send me. –grins-**_

_**Anyways, I'm seriously considering writing a short fic with these guys for a special little thing. (X3 Ran and Shinichi's wedding I think, though it's only a small idea and I'm not sure if I'll go through with it. We'll see how much muse I have left over...)**_

_**Really, I luff you guys all. Loved this fanfiction, and I hope you enjoyed the whole thing as much as I enjoyed writing it. Iggy's character is the best character I've ever had the opportunity to write so far, and this fanfiction happens to be my best work as of yet right now.**_


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